Memoirs of the Millennium
by xXxJazzy B. RealxXx
Summary: Polar to the softness in his expression, his voice addressed Yugi with all seriousness, "It would be wrong of me to not share my honesty with you, Yugi...so I say this now - are you certain that you are ready for another possible matter of life or death?"
1. The Golden Days of Yore

**∞~ Memoirs of the Millennium ~∞**

_By: xXxJazzy B. RealxXx_

_Publish Date: 2004_

* * *

The sky was auburn, the weather was warm, and the heat waves were scorching. Time always felt useless to pay attention to during the _September_ climate, but the season seemed to be perfect enough for one person.

"I'm just going to take a walk around, so I should be back soon, Grandpa!"

Idly appreciating his front row view of the sunset, Mr. Mutou saluted his grandson's departure and continued to thumb through his newspaper.

"And what's _this~_?" He planted his face in the headlines. "...Now how could anything like _this_ be? If my memory does any right by me, then I would be absolutely certain that there were only…"

A sense of coldness that was similar to a _December _morning arrested him. As the old man's eyes ran over the top of the paper, they widened at the sight of a girl peering back at them from the shop's window.

* * *

Standing just outside the door of the game shop, Yugi Mutou caressed his _Millennium Puzzle._

"…I wonder why it's been so darn _hot_ lately..." The duelist champion wiped his forehead with his sleeve_. _"It's really no way to start the first semester of school!"

The Egyptian phantom departed from the _Puzzle_ and appeared next to him, _"The deserts of Egypt were hardly ever showered with rain, I'm sure…"_

Yami was mindful enough to assort his sentence as an assumption, because in retrospect, he had no memory of his _golden ages_ to act like he could call upon old memories of _Egypt's_ weather. It ate him from the inside more than he liked to share with Yugi, but in himself was where he was going to keep it.

Yugi watched the ginger clouds pass over Yami's eyes. "That reminds me, Pharaoh...we still haven't figured out the rest of your past, now have we?"

Ha! _Pure futility_. There was no hiding from the boy.

_"There is time for that."_ The Pharaoh chuckled at his comrade, admiring his keenness. _"Nothing is in the blue yet, but do not worry yourself so much, Yugi. We will eventually piece together all of our given clues in the exact same way you managed to piece together a puzzle that took a king his lifetime to complete. After all that's happened, you must rest for now."_

The Pharaoh's vessel did agree with this observation. It would be unrealistic to boast that his psyche was able to endure those mind-raping cataclysms he experienced during the _Battle City Tournament _without losing a sip of his sanity. He only had a grain of that left, and they both planned to get back on track with the life they had left behind. '_Rejuvenation_,' the Pharaoh had pressed. _'Rejuvenation is vital.' _

His vessel still gave him a worried pout, and thought about voicing the source of his feelings. The Pharaoh, a mature figure who was usually painted in sage-like illustrations, retaliated with a playfully immature wink. Before Yugi could point out that paradox, the Pharaoh's spirit vanished when he passed the girl peeking in front of his grandfather's shop window. Yugi wouldn't have taken notice of her, had it not been for where she was poking her business.

One hand was holding a _Tristan and Isolde_ novel behind her back, and the other was cupping the face that was pressed against the glass. The hair hanging over her shoulders looked thinner than blonde lace, while her two improperly braided sidelocks rested on her breasts―or where breasts should have been. Her neck was long like a unicorn's, but her face was very elfin. In spite of her frilly dress and pretty bow, she was dry-scalped, pasty and bony―all ankles and elbows. Being generally plain to look at because of this, the only compelling feature was the position she had fixed herself in.

"…It would be funny if he forgot…" Yugi heard her say, and the smile on her face didn't quite fit the sadness in the rest of it. "That would be very funny, wouldn't it?"

When the girl felt eyes on her, curious amber met staring amethyst, and an invasive honing of enegry entered his body. He frowned with forced focus as it pulerized his spine, constraining his spirit to feel alienated from its own skeleton. The sensation was kindred to being linked to an astral plane that intercrossed two different timelines. A streetlight flickered out, breaking Yugi's connection. The current world returned to his conscience the second she cut the corner, and reality was back to the way it'd been.

_What was that just now? _The traumatized boy groped his sweaty chest, making sure every part of himself was in its rightful place. _**What** was that just now? _Yugi's book-bag fell to the floor.

Yami materialized behind him. _"Is...there something wrong, Yugi?"_

The vessel tripped over his feet to face his alter-ego. "You mean you...you didn't...?"

He hadn't experienced it! He hadn't felt, sensed, or seen his soul being ripped from its seams or splintered in two! No, like an innocently ignorant child, Yami just blinked.

Yugi dismissed his alter-ego's expression and projected his melancholy into two words, "It's...nothing."

Hesitant to do so, he looked around the corner and spotted the girl's back shrinking into the sunset. She truly did not blend into the city's backdrop, because even her transcendental attire was better suited for the _Victorian_ ages. Now classifying her as the newest obstructive element in his life, Yugi gripped the chain of his _Millennium Puzzle, _and would pretend to remember how gleaming white her throat was.

_Wait...! _A familiar glint of gold caught his eye as he was thinking about these things. _Is that...? _No, it was just a bracelet under the sleeve of her dress. _"Drats,"_ was on the tip of his tongue. If she was wearing a _Millennium_ item, an explanation to his _astral projection_ would've been much easier to convey.

The quick opening of the shop's door was enough to scare Yugi out of his wits as he stumbled off to the side.

"Hnn! Saw that girl as well, didja now?" Mr. Mutou tightened his head-wrap. "Was she a friend of yours?" The look on Yugi's face said it all. "Then whoever she was, she certainly left as quickly as she came." He slugged back into the shop to retire for the night, but not without chiding, "Don't stand there brooding for too long or else you'll catch a cold, Yugi."

"I―I won't, Grandpa."

The line didn't sell Yugi. Still feeling that he needed to probe, he stepped into the spot the girl had been standing in before, sneakers facing something on the pavement.

_It's...a Duel Monster's card! _Reaching down to retrieve it, he read aloud: "...Bastet of..._Femi_...?"

Yugi turned to Yami for identification, but he too was trying to decode the card's context.

"_It's...written in Egyptian."_ Yami closed his eyes and turned away with his arms still crossed. _"I can not read it."_

Lingering on the fact that he could not read in his own language_, _Yami's dejection caused him to not invest any more into it, but Yugi had more conclusive thoughts on his mind.

"Actually, this is _Egyptian colloquial language_, and it looks like it's not ours to read, Pharaoh," reminded Yugi, hinting at a steeplechase.

Yami evidently switched his focus. _"Yugi, what was that a few moments ago?"_

"Well...which _'that,'_ exactly?" There were many strange details to draw from his encounter with the girl.

_"The first time we saw the girl, you were troubled, and I could not reach you. Was she the reason? Had you felt something?"_

"Well...when we made eye contact, everything felt slanted, like I was off my own axis and half-thrown into another time-loop." Yugi looked at his hand. "It was a very nauseating feeling...like I was being separated from you and the _Puzzle,_ yet merged at the same time."

Yami's face went solemn, eyes holding superiority over Yugi's. _"I've been feeling a sense of familiarity tremble in my heart when I look at this card..." _He narrowed his eyes.

Yugi held his head. "Though I've never seen this card in my life!"

The monster on the card resembled a black cat with an Egyptian crown. The hireoglyphics burned into her fur were similar to the ones under her special abilities category. Her mane of human hair streamed to her ankles in white light, and her wings were of sunbird feathers. The duel monster also appeared to be wearing a bracelet that was identical to the designs often found on _Millennium_ items.

Yugi bore the expression of a _Scandinavian_ _Viking_. "…Pharaoh…?"

...Yami nodded knowingly. _"We may have just discovered our latest lead." _

The dramatic music did not come. Contrariwise, alter-ego and vessel could only hear the depressing wind in their ears, because there was no feeling of shock on either's party.

Polar to the softness in his expression, Yami's voice confronted Yugi with all seriousness, _"...It would be wrong of me to not share my honesty with you, Yugi...so I say this now: are you certain that you are ready for another possible matter of life or death?" _

Yugi regarded the nurturing hand that was clamped over his. He tried to blink the potential, _"I don't know..."_ out of his eyes, but there was no ridding it.

"There's no time for thoughts like that, Pharaoh." His smile was small and apologetic, but it was successful in reaching Yami's heart. "We're fighting for your destiny, because that same destiny has become my own."

If decoded accurately, the answer translated that he was not ready, but whether Yugi was prepared for this or not had always been of minor importance in fate's eyes.

* * *

_**Disclaimer**__:_

_Howdy! __This was the first YGO (Kids WB) fan story I authored in middle school, which was clearly waaayy~ before the series disclosed the Pharaoh's past. Although I did revise it, acknowledge that there will be fan-ficcy, cornfed material and banal shortcomings, so the plot may feel "very over-used, but it eventually takes a stimulating direction." If the blood content becomes too much, I'll change the rating. Changes **have not** been made to chapters three-seventeen just yet._

_I only own the obvious insertions__. __Yami will be called Atemu when his name is revealed (turns out Atemu means in Egyptian, "great god of Annu") but when I write his name, it'll sometimes be Yami Atemu at that point since he is still Yugi's "dark (yami)" side. _

_And no, this is not Yami x Yugi._


	2. The Question of Apriorism

Yugi left his grandfather's game shop in a hurry on his way to school. He was set on decrypting the card in his back-pocket and getting rewarded with the answers he sought, so if he had to ditch his lunch period to visit Ishizu's museum and lecture Kaiba into alliance along the way, then so be it. As his eyes followed the doves flying overhead, a pragmatical thought came to him.

...What if she were another malevolent rogue trying to set him up by allowing the card to fall into his possession?

"Yugi! _Yugi,_ wait up!"

Yugi looked behind him. "…Tea…?"

Jogging up the road in her pleated skirt, the aspiring dancer intersected Yugi at the cross-streets.

"I lost count of how many times I was yelling your name!" She joked, trying to make light of her fatigue.

Tea bit her finger when she caught Yugi's eyes avoiding her face. He didn't look to be blushing, and he didn't necessarily look upset...

"...Oh..." She bopped herself on the head. "I wanted to apologize about yesterday, Yugi..." Tea held her elbows, feeling ashamed of the promise she broke last night. "I was held up at work longer than I thought I'd be..."

After a moment of staring off into space, Yugi just chuckled. "No, don't sweat it. I understand!"

She smiled more confidently, "Understanding enough to let me join you on the walk to school?"

"Sure thing, Tea!"

He side-stepped to make room for her placement beside him, not completely convincing her that he "understood," but it wasn't the time or the place to dwell on it. The walk was pleasant and awkward at the same time; the two had _"always acted in a very careful manner in front of one another"_ so that they could not reveal their subtle affections. Regardless of that, the relationship between the aspiring dancer and the duelist champion was virtually sandwiched between a love triangle. Although the spirit that was housing Yugi's prized possession viewed Tea the same way he viewed Joey, she viewed both Yami and Yugi the same way _Christine Daee_ viewed _Erik_ and _Raoul_. The heart will do what it will whether the brain consents or not.

Almost the very second the two childhood friends reached the school house, a familar face darted from the main gates and crashed into Tea face first. Yugi shut his eyes as the collison gave way to a series of bashes and "Oof's!" When he opened his eyes again, Tea was rubbing her rear end with a vein-popped face while the culprit of the mess had his buried in the dirt.

"Tea! Joey!" Yugi ran over. "Are...you two alright?"

"…Heeeh," Joey grinned and tried to pull a cop-out, "S'up Yug! And 'duh, hey Tea! You're lookin' pretty _down to earth_ ta'day."

"URGH! Jo-_ey_!" Tea got in position to clobber him, but Tristan beat her to it.

"Now look what you did! Way to go, smart one!" With one hand clutching the scruff of Joey's shirt, Tristan pointed at the the smashed hotdog in between his best mate's fingers with the other.

"...Whoops!" Joey lifted his mustard-smeared hand and whistled cheekily, "Guess it got kinda smushed…"

"I paid good money for that, Wheeler!"

Joey grinned mockingly. "…Two bucks? Wooow…must've been ya' life's savin's, 'den."

"It wasn't just two bucks, you nimrod!" Tristan stretched out Joey's face like a rubberband. "It was _**MY**_ two bucks! Why'd ya' have to steal it in the first place?"

Joey shoved Tristan away to nurse his swollen cheeks. "Hey, I was hungry, dat's all! Don't blame da' poor!"

"More like a lazy bum! You owe me two bucks!"

Joey cleaned out his ear with a pinky. "Naaaah shad-daaaap. I don't owe you nothin', Tristan!"

The two hot-heads got their morning growling-war ceremony while Tea and Yugi grieved on the sidelines.

"Down boys…" Tea commented as her sweat drop slid down lower.

As sunrise chased out the fog, the band of friends waited around school for the bell to ring.

"So," Tristan yawned. "How's it going you two….?"

Tea gave him an experimental nudge. "Didn't get much sleep last night eh, Tristan?"

Tristan tipped sideways, ready for another yawn. "I was forced to stay up watching that horror movie called _High School Musical_ with my cousin last night, so cut me a break."

Tea put her finger on her chin and looked up at the clouds to catch her memory. "Oh, I've heard of that movie! It can't be that bad!"

"It'll give you more seizures than _Pokemon_ and _Digimon_ put together…" Tristan scoffed. "And get this, after I watched the special features, all they show is this weird black and white tape, right? And then guess what happens?"

"What?" Yugi asked naively.

"The TV screen starts acting up with a high-pitched screech…and then…the phone rings."

"Dan-dan-dan-daaaan!" Joey dramatized.

Tristan shoved his face back, "Shut up, moron…LIKE I was saying before _you_ interrupted me, I picked up the phone, and all I heard was..." Tristan used his fingers to mimick a snake-tongued phantom." _'Seeeven~ Daaaays.'_"

The gang, except the unamused Tea, was stunned into silence.

"S-Seven Days?" Yugi and Joey yipped, having no idea that Tristan was making a mock-reference to, _"The Ring."_

"I can't believe you two!" Tea threw her hands up, startling Joey and Yugi into grabbing onto each other. "How gullible can you get? He's making it up!"

Tristan closed his eyes and sneered, "_Anyway_, I _heard_ we're going to have a new student in our class today."

"..._New_?" Yugi said as he untangled himself from Joey's waist.

"For once, Tristan didn't stutter." Joey plopped down on a bench, slinging his arms over the back. "It's some gurl we saw dis' mornin'."

"..." Yugi crossed his arms and brooded. "Do either of you remember what she looked like?"

"Like a foreigner. Blonde eyelashes, blonde eyebrows...Irish...ish," Joey snickered at his language.

"Ir_ish_-_ish_?" Tea's eyebrow ticked. "Is that what your vocabulary has come down to?"

"What are you, the _Phonics_-police? Arrest me!"

The bell rung, leaving them no time for word-battles; they'd finish it up during lunch, anyway. After a long journey to their homeroom classes, Yugi took out the card he found yesterday and examined it under the safety of his coat.

Tea, who sat next to him, leaned over his arm to see. "What's that, Yugi?"

"Oh, this?" Deciding to keep most of his discoveries to himself until he had a solid idea, he gave Tea the more abridged version of things. "A girl dropped it yesterday. I was hoping I would catch her again after school."

"So then, what kind of _Duel Monster_ is it?" Tea squinted to read the text. "What's _'Femi'_ mean?"

"I'm not sure…and check this out..." He pointed out its special abilities. "This is in the _Egyptian_ _Arabic_ language, as if it were too risky to be written in English. Remember whenever _The Winged Dragon of Ra_ was played in a duel, some weird Egyptian text would show up at the bottom of the card?"

"Yeah…" Tea held her chin. "So you think it's in the class of the _Egyptian God Cards_?"

"No, not at all, but maybe exported _directly_ from Modern Egypt. After _Duel Monsters_ became internationally known, there were some areas of Egypt that entertained this game the way we do behind school doors...but _Egyptian Arabic_ has been out of speakers' mouths for centuries..."

She watched as he stared at the window, and skillfully read his mind, "…That would mean that girl's linked to this…"

The way he paused with that familiar matter-of-life-and-death grimness around him made her shudder. It was a look that was familiar on the Pharaoh, but she hated it on her ever optimistic Yugi.

"Yugi...?" Tea whispered, hand to her heart.

"Ah..." Yugi attempted to smile it off. "It's nothing, Tea…don't worry!"

Tea crossed her arms and arched her brow like a _doubting Thomas._

Yugi put his hands up nervously and chuckled, "Really!"

"Okay class, settle down now..." The teacher entered the room, dodging paper balls like a pro. "Class?"

A spit ball rocketed across the room.

"_Class_..."

"Aww, Teacher! Joey dumped my book in the trashcan again!"

"Ya' tattle-tell!"

"Would you all please just..." A vein popped out of her forehead. "...sit down and **LISTEN.**"

She slammed her fist into a desk, activating everyone to race to their seats. The teacher straightened up and grimaced at her students, before announcing a well-anticipated introduction.

"Now, we have a new student joining our class today. I want you all to give her your full attention." She smiled brightly and took off her glasses, shaking out her hair. "Come inside, dear. It's all right."

The student slid out from behind the door.

― _Gleaming white_ ―

"I expected her..." Yugi muttered.

Her eyes stayed floored as she picked insecurely at the angry acne scars pimpling her left cheek. The pale-blonde hair hung slovenly over her back, and her blue ribbon was wrinkled like the rest of her uniform. She was neither ugly nor pretty, and she gave the classroom the impression of being slightly "weird."

"Say hello to the class, dear."

The disorderly-clothed girl raised her head, giving the audience her practiced-in-front-of-the-mirror smile. "Good morning."

Although the season was still on the skirts of summer, her voice was a cross between winter and fall.

_The new student Joey saw earlier was definitely her... _Yugi was not surprised in the least bit, because of that, his face was hardened with earnesty. He did not believe in coincidences after caterwauling with Marik, so he began to wonder if she set up her own registration to get to him.

"Let me introduce you, then." The teacher clapped her on the shoulder. "Class, this is _Isolde Hoel. _She moved from Ireland two years ago and left her home-schooled life to join our little social elite."

_Two years ago, huh? The time-gap doesn't make it sound suspicious, but..._

"_La Bella Iseult_, Isolde the Fair!" A boy from the back-row teased, poking attention at her rice-white complexion.

Joey joined in on the alliance, "S'up, Izzy? Nice BOW. Matter of fact, I think we have a Tristan in here for you!"

"Don't bring me into it!"

"Well then...since you all seem to be so very _familiar_ with the _Tristan and Isolde _tale, I expect to hear some enthusiam in your voices when I assign you a part to read from your textbooks!"

The rest of the class moaned at the teacher's demands while Joey and the boy from the back row sneered at Isolde. The Irish girl did not teeter as she stood before the wolves. She smirked with amusement, as if their bigotry inspired her to stand strong. She reviewed everyone's faces one last time (skipping Yugi's), tied her fingers together, and smiled up at the teacher.

"May I sit now?"

The teacher eyed Yugi with a catty smile. She misread the fixed look on his face as sincere interest. He caught a glimpse of the teacher's expression and sunk into his seat, unrehearsed for the sooner-than-expected confrontation that was about to come. The fair girl was assigned a seat behind him, which made him sink even lower. What if her connection to his _Millennium Puzzle_ was a villainous one? Could she kill him from back there? Could she manipulate his mind and cast his soul out of his body for longer than ten seconds this time?

Again their eyes met, but Yugi was not delivered with an out-of-body experience. The look on the girl's face was daft, one showing that she had no recollection of who he was, or was at least pretending not to. She left him to linger on her, taking out her newly bought school books and sweeping off the gummy-wrappers on her desk. The _Millennium Puzzle_ shifted and rattled on Yugi's chain, only to drop limp when he looked down at it. Yugi hawk-watched Isolde from the corner of his eye with a wrinkled brow of uncertainty.

Tea could sense Yugi's anxiousness. _Why is Yugi so shaken up all of the sudden?_

"Tea..?"

She was knocked out of her gaze. "Huh?"

Yugi laughed lightly. "_You_…okay? You look upset…"

"No, I'm fine, Yugi!" Tea smiled. "I'm fine!" Her attention drifted to her desk. "…Just fine…"

* * *

_"This pool appeared very still to look at, but its strong currents pushed through into a stream that ran down between the trees, all the way through the orchid to the castle itself, and there it was guided into a culvert, and brought into the Queen's apartments where it was caught into a golden basin for the Queen's own amusement," _recited Isolde as she orally read the material that was assigned to her by their _English Lit._ teacher.

Yugi tapped his pencil against his temple as he watched her uncomfortably.

Her eyes connected with his when she paused on one sentence: _"This was the thread that connected Tristan and Isolde."_

In that short duration, it was no longer a mystery of whether or not she recognized him. Deliberately using the excerpt to reenact their more unpleasant "connection" got the message across to him the way she wanted it to. Her face suddenly looked sinister to him, and he didn't like it.

_"Tristan took out his knife and he began to whittle on a piece of wood. He carved a dainty little love knot and he tossed it into the water. Both he and the King watched the little token as it sank and then bobbed to the surface. It was caught by the current and then dragged to the pool's edge.__"_

"Thank you for your participation, Isolde. You may now sit down."

She sat down with an expression that was hard to describe, while their English teacher looked cheekier than she should've. Since she was also his homeroom teacher fifteen minutes ago, her misinterpretations of his stares were still the same.

"Yugi, I would like you to read Tristan's character dialogue."

Yugi glared deeply into the bold print of his English book. The woman was like a couch-wife living out her excitement for romances through her TV soaps.

_Great...my teacher thinks my stares at Isolde are because of some blonde-haired baby angel in a diaper carrying a bow and arrow, and now she even wants me to act the part. _He risked a glance at his adversary just to find her staring hostilely right back.

The bell rung for class dismissal, giving Yugi the opportunity to bolt. As he squeezed between taller hall-mates, he remembered with racing relief that nutrition was going to grant him a break from that girl's face. He stopped outside of school doors, slapping himself in the forehead when he also remembered he had no choice but to use this nutrition time _to_ find that girl's face. It was better to confront his speculations than to allow her to chase him out of his own school. Without further ado, he went on a scavenger hunt. His legs turned to the courtyard and gravitated towards a grassy knoll next to the corridor. It was there that he saw her lying in the field, spending a fourth session on daydreaming and humming a little Irish tune from the _Tristan und Isolde_ music drama.

Seeing her in that element made his legs feel less stiff, as it gave him the subconscious ability to wander over to her without an iron sway. He edited his introduction in his head, carefully revising and narrating what he'd do until he had the perfect attunement.

"...Y―Yo."

He tasted vomit in his mouth. That wasn't what he rehearsed! No, there was a sixty-word count, and it had more of a clout than that! Was that even in his everyday vocabulary? He only traded "Yo's!" with Joey because his slang was contagious sometimes!

Even with the unusual greeting, he received no reaction from the European girl. He didn't time how long she kept silent for, but it must've been five minutes. Although, it might've been no more than thirty seconds since his internal clock had a useless lack of coordination. There was some distant life in her eyes when she turned her head against the grass and flashed her white throat to him.

Yugi had diarrhea at the mouth after that: "Is there something you don't like about the school?" There was true concern coupled with a doe-eyed blink that didn't win her. "You've had that look on your face since yesterday."

His brain threw it all out: priorities, speculations, intimidation, battle claws. The contents in it were replaced by a concern he remembered feeling when he first heard how sad she sounded. It was in his nature to be this way by default, so it couldn't be reversed now.

She showed a look of discomfort before facing him. He held his breath, bethinking his previous precautions. Their glaring marathon ended short when she said: "And you've had that look on your face since you saw me yesterday."

His mouth opened and closed, starting but never finishing. She probably said that just to spite him, because how was he supposed to reply to that? He did so by scratching his cheek and hoping she would disappear. With his intended speech locked in his brain and his subconscious one doing all the talking, he felt that opening his mouth again would be unsafe on his part. Abiding by that, Yugi held out her card without looking its owner in the eye.

"I think..." Tongue-tied again, "..th―this is yours?"

To his disbelief, she displayed genuine shock to him. She stared at it, blinked, and took it, eyes looking from it to him.

Her voice was small as she mumbled, "_Buíochas a ghabháil leat go mór_..."

Even though it was in a language he could not understand, it had a gentle tone that allowed him to sense the shame in it.

She added reluctantly without returning eye contact, "It means, _'thank you very...much.'_"

The accusations he held against her were clearing, and that atmosphere of paranoia slowly lifted.

"You're..." With one blink, the Yugi that was Yugi returned. "Welcome!"

Watching her classmate transform from a hard-faced rival to a chirpy boy made her lose some of her cynical energy.

"My mother..." She stroked the card and quietly revealed the card's origins to him: "...This card―it was hers."

Shuffling with his pockets, Yugi kneeled down on one knee. "Then that card must mean a lot to you."

She looked up into his face with a still hard, but now semi-vulnerable expression before looking back down to it, lips fighting for a smile, "...Yes."

He half-smiled awkwardly as well, even with the clearly irrelevant conversation they were having. Did they really throw all that previous weirdness to the wind just now?

"So why's it...written in _Egyptian Arabic_?" Such lack of force! What happened to the clout? The _clout_?

And yet her eyes were still cold, clearly telling him that he thought too highly of what he deserved to know. "From what my mother told me, this has been in the family since its creation, like a sort of heirloom. She didn't tell me much else, other than the fact that the family is friends with the _Duel Monsters_ creator or that she wanted it because she liked cats, so that's all I know."

Now starting to believe her explanations far too quickly, Yugi's sympathetic half-smile upgraded to an eympathetic half-grin.

With the card still pressed tightly to her breast, she eyed him over. "...If your intentions were only to return my card, then _why_ did you look at me so abrasively in class today?"

He scratched the back of his head, laughing to himself. Oh, the irony. So he'd been wrong! "I think we should 'nevermind' that for now."

Yugi was beginning to think that he added more imagination to the plate than what-have-you. He was starting to assume that, because Yami had not felt it, his 'astral' experience had just been an illusion his own paranoia conceived. He had no choice but to want himself to believe in comfortable thoughts these days.

Without him even asking, she began to explain with a pinch of annoyance, "I ignored you when you walked over because I thought you were looking for _trouble_."

"I'm sorry..." He did another head-scratch. "Did I really give you that impression?"

"Well, you should've seen yourself..." She condemned, putting her nose in the air. "I thought you were going to bully me, walking up like that with such a scandalous look on your face."

He wished to joke, _Well...I didn't have a mirror on me!_ but went for: "No, that's not in my character one bit!" Yugi waved his hands around to add effects, but his sudden thrust forward made her hug her books to herself out of alarm. "_I'm_ usually the one who gets bullied. I can't even successfully swat a fly without hurting myself first!"

A slow smile broke out from behind her thumb; face still half-hidden by her books. Suddenly, he was looking at the coy person he used to be, and nostalgia was born. A dreadful sense of needing to play "guider" overcame him as she shied away, but he left her be in her _Carrie White_-disposition.

She bit around the nail-bed of her thumb and said with eyes as big as a Goldfish's, "So is this why you came, Mr. Yugi?"

Her tone sounded like it was deliberately holding a subliminal message for him to read between. "What...do you mean, exactly?"

"There wasn't..." She fingered the tab of her book anticipatorily. "...Something _else_?"

For the second time, the ten-minute bell cut his time short. Having been solemn and dull until now, Isolde leapt up, causing Yugi to mistime his step when he tried to stand up with her.

She didn't find his clumsiness charming like Tea would, and told him, "It unfortunately looks like we're going to need to meet again, doesn't it? Next time, for what you wanted."

The way it was said made her sound like she was requesting something she found unpleasant but necessary.

"For what I...?" Yugi had an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

She had long distracted his guesstimations about her possessing a _Millennium_ item or malicious intent, so he had little to no idea what it was she suggested he "wanted," unless she was proving his earlier suppositions correct. The girl passed by the dumbstruck duelist and disappeared into the sea of bodies, not at all caring to look back. He was sick to the stomach once again, and...what was this familiar trembling in his heart?

"_Yugi,"_ Yami's spirit appeared beside him. _"I would highly encourage you to take her future offer. __Have you forgotten the manner in which the Millennium Puzzle activated during homeroom?"_

No, he snuffed it out of his memory on purpose. "It's just that...the pieces don't add up. She's not wearing an item, I didn't get the feeling I got when we made eye contact yesterday, and she was only staring me down because I started the first staring contest."

An invisible hand rested on his shoulder. _"...What is it that you fear, Yugi?"_ He gazed into the parental eyes of the Pharaoh. _"Do you fear that you've lost some soundness of mind since our encounter with Marik Ishtar, or is there something more?" _

The familiar trembling in Yugi's heart returned. His hand balled into a fist, and as Yami watched his partner hide his face from him, he began to wonder if he had stripped Yugi of the normalcy he was sorely missing in life.

Yami objected his probabilities and gave Yugi's shoulder a firm squeeze. _"Then it is decided. Talk with her after school, Yugi. Perhaps she is not what we fear. Bring the answers to the light, and then that truth will set you free." _

Yugi's shoulders drooped again before straightening up as he raised his fist and nodded. "Right!"

_Her eyes connected with his when she paused on one sentence: "This was the thread that connected Tristan and Isolde."_

Or so Yami hoped.


	3. The King's Eld

_**Beneath the Rich Sands of Hidden Secrets**_

The bell for school to be over at last rang throughout all the students' ears. The sound caused elation and exhilaration for everyone.

Yugi walked out his classroom and did an analysis on the hallway with a few glances. His eyes didn't see an Isolde nywhere. He felt his hopes push further down to the bottom. He walked out the exit without his friends and tried to see if he could find her around the school grounds.

Befallen luck.

"There she is!" Yugi gasped happily, seeing the long haired blonde walking nearer and nearer to the exit of the school's perimeter.

"Hey, Isolde! W-Wait for me!" he suddenly halted in his tracks when he saw her leave around the corner.

He blinked in confusion of it. He knew she heard him calling. _Why didn't she stop? _

He ran around the corner just to find she had disappeared.

And on top of that, he missed another chance to ask about that Millennium Bangle she carried.

_**Game shop**_

"I can't believe I missed our chance the _first_ time." Yugi sighed heftily. He sat down on his bed in his small bedroom in his pair of navy-blue jeans and black tank top.

"_We'll just have to wait till tomorrow."_ Yami's spiritual voice echoed as the faint transparency of him stood in front of Yugi with arms crossed.

"Sorry I never asked, Pharaoh…"

"_It's fine. You're caught up in an affectionate matter with Isolde. It's not your fault. Just like the old love stories of those legendary lovers, Juliet and Romeo, Tristan and Isolde. And isn't it ironic that her name is Isolde?" _

"Yeah thanks—what? Hey! I'm not a Romeo or Tristan, okay?! I like—I mean I _don't_ like the girl!" Yugi frowned while his face blushed once again.

Yami raised his eyebrows in a smile. _"I have quite the feeling you do."_

"You have 'quite the feeling' of everything." Yugi crossed his arms and looked away. "Think what you want but I don't have feelings for her."

"_Think what you feel and let that guide you to a successful truth."_ Yami smiled wider in victory.

"Can we get back to the Millennium item situation now?" Yugi begged, for his yami was too good at the game of wits.

"_As soon as you can get your act together over your Isolde, yes we can." _

"If I see her again I'll talk with her, happy now?"

"_Very well, Yugi."_ Yami's spirit disappeared. "_Just don't fall head over heels."_He teased after a silent chuckle.

Yugi shut his eyes tightly with red tainting his cheeks as he shouted for the world to know for the last time, "I **DON'T** LIKE ISOLDE!"

_**Early Sunrise**_

The three digits blinked on and off with a buzzing repeating after. Yugi slammed his hand over the alarm clock, sleepily rubbed his eyes.

**7:30AM**

It was time to start chores. Immediately he headed down stairs to meet his Grandpa at the cash register.

"Morning Grandpa." Yugi smiled at his grandfather, who was busy wiping the glass display table.

"Mornin' Yugi, ready for your chores?" he grinned cheekily.

"As always."

"Here," he tossed the broom to him. "Sweep the floor, take out the trash over there and—"

"Sweep the floor, take out the trash, dust the corners, clean my room, replace new cards, put the cards in order of category, put up the new duel monsters' poster, I know." He joked.

"Good!" Grandpa grinned wider. "You memorized it all! We have a lot to do today, so let's get started."

Yugi firstly cleaned his room, and then took out the trash. After that he helped his Grandpa with the duel monsters cards. He dusted the nasty webbed corners of the Game shop neatly, but then suddenly sneezed and caused all the dust in his nose to fill the shiny tiles of the corner once more. Afterwards, he relaxed for his break.

"Oh Yugi," his Grandpa tapped his shoulder.

"What is it?"

Grandpa held a broom in his hands. "You forgot to sweep the floors and put up the posters."

"Heh…" he uneasily grinned. "I'll get right to it…"

Yugi's Grandpa went back to the cash register and waited for a customer while his grandson was cleaning the floors. "I must the luckiest man in the world to have such a helpful grandson." He mumbled to himself.

The glockenspiel chimed softly; a new customer.

Mr. Motou looked up and smiled at the young girl that came to the counter. "Hello Miss, what can I do for you?"

The young girl looked around before she heard his voice. "Oh, I couldn't find a more fit game shop, so I was hoping you'd have some magic and trap cards, or perhaps any type of good duel monsters you have here."

"I can help you with that." Grandpa showed her some of his best magic cards in the shop.

Yugi swept the floor in the back of the Game shop and finished.

He sighed heavily to himself. "I wonder what Izzy's doing today…." He whispered automatically, but slapped himself to snap out of it. He quickly put the broom away. "Alright Grandpa, I'm finished." Yugi shouted as he came from around the back. He stopped in his tracks, noticing the girl. He gulped a large lump of nervousness that had run up his throat. "I-Isolde?" _I spoke too SOON…_

The young lady dressed in a fancy, ruffled dress of classy white turned her head, seeing him too. She balked in surprise. "Yugi…?" pink tainted her cheeks.

Yugi scratched his cheek with one finger as his face blushed pink shades as well. "Oh, h-hi…you…"

Mr. Motou looked to Isolde and to Yugi—back to Isolde —then back to Yugi. "Yugi, you know this young lady?"

"…Yeah, we're school-mate friends…"

"Friends, eh?" his Grandpa raised an eyebrow as he looked to the urbane Isolde.

Her eyes were looking down into the glass display table in softness and daydream with red streaked cheeks.

"Really now?" he chuckled.

"….Well, what brings you here, Isolde?" Yugi questioned.

"I came to buy a duel monsters' card…" she said as if he should know.

Yugi mentally punched himself. _No duh Yugi, why else would she be here? _

Juliet showed him the card she bought. "Yugi, you're the top duelist, do you think this one is useful?"

"Stop Defense? That is a good card in tight situations. Pretty handy actually."

"I'm planning to get some other ones from here, too, well basically build a deck." She looked back at the cards. "I've played duel monsters all my life. I'm planning to enter a duel monsters tournament whenever one is scheduled one day…to…occupy myself, and keep my mind off some things. My originals were all thrown away except for the one you gave back to me…"

Yugi's Grandpa pointed to a window. "Yes, and by the way, Yugi, could you wipe that fogging dust off the window over there before you do anything else?"

"Sure…thing…" the young boy said as he kept all his attention on Isolde . "I'd be…glad to…" he walked over to the window and grabbed a damp cloth.

"Thanks, Yugi." His Grandpa cackled before showing Isolde the rest of his decks.

Isolde kept on glimpsing at Yugi in curio.

"Now, this is something genuine."

She turned back to Mr. Motou, a quizzical expression before noticing he was holding up a card for her to see. She flinched and blushed in embarrassment. "Oh! I'm sorry, forgive my absence of mind…"

While wiping the window, Yugi looked at her from the corner of his eye. He watched her every graceful move she made, laughing lightly at his Grandpa's short jokes intertwining with duel monsters. She gave off the impression that she was brought up from a fairly moneyed family, with folded napkins on the right side of the table and four different sized forks on the left. She wasn't hip and punk, not like Yugi's style…

Even her small laugh was well-mannered.

She was so fancy and proper.

She was so charming…

So…

Out of his _league. _

He continued to watch her, and not what he was doing. Yugi moved along the window, and further off than he should have.

His Grandpa peeked over at him. "Yugi would you please mind staying on the window? My walls don't need to be wiped, you know."

"Huh?" Yugi blushed as he saw himself wiping down a white wall, which by the way was chipping off paint because of it. "Oh!" he sweat dropped. "S-Sorry about that, Grandpa! I…I wasn't paying attention."

"So I see." The old man chuckled. "Here, why don't _you_ show Isolde the best cards while I run to the back for a minute?"

"Okay…" Yugi nodded.

Mr. Motou walked to the back of the Game shop, but not before eying and raising his eyebrows at Juliet. "Cute, isn't she?" he winked at Yugi with a silent chuckle.

Yugi flinched. "G-Grandpa!!"

Soon the front room of the Game shop was left to Yugi and Isolde.

"…What's wrong, Yugi? You're not afraid to show me are you?" Isolde asked with a single, throated giggle, all of the sudden decently perky, just making Yugi blush deeper.

Yugi massaged the back of his head again with a blank expression of words.

He pulled out some duel monsters cards for her to see. "My Grandpa has a bunch of awesome cards in here, so feel free to pick out which ever ones you want."

Isolde leaned over the counter and observed each carefully. "They all seem appealingly powerful…"

Yugi slowly nodded, half-smiling goofily.

Her accent.

He loved her accent.

It wasn't too strong, too overdrawn, too funny, or too snobby. It was fairly cute, actually. It made her seem out of the ordinary.

Funny he never usually felt like this around girls. Well, nervous of course, but to actually feel as if he were on cloud nine like this around a girl was something he'd never experienced. He felt slight, hinting tingles around only Tea when the time was right. But with Isolde it was different. Yet, how she was different was an answer even he did not know.

Yugi's heart jumped like a wild bucking mustang as the girl's hand accidentally moved against his.

She retracted it shyly. "Forgive my clumsiness."

_Why do I feel so strange?_ He questioned himself. _Urgh, it's really irritable…_

"Oh, how adoring." Isolde smiled as she held up the duel monster card, 'Mystical Elf.' "Motou, isn't this beautiful?"

"….Duh, you're beautiful, it's the Mystical Elf—LAH—IT! I meant IT! HER! SHE!" he tried to cover up, waving his hands frantically.

Juliet said nothing, but looked down at the cards in brief remorse yet happiness...

"Yeah, uh, heh, anyway, did you find any cards you liked?" Yugi nervously asked.

She shook her head. "Sorry, but I think I have to search for a little bit more. Is…that alright?"

He waved his hands around. "Oh, yeah sure it's fine. Stay here as long as you want, _please_…." _I still need to get on the case about your item._

**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW**

I can't believe she got me hooked like this…and I only met her, what last week? It feels like a year ALREADY. How bizarre is that? And it doesn't even FEEL natural or unrecognizable. It feels familiar yet distant…

And I'm starting to think these feelings are evaporated from the connection of her bracelet and my puzzle.

"So, Yugi…" I heard Grandpa snicker. "Is it really just a friendship I see?"

I flinched and turned my head to Grandpa, raising my eyes in perplexity. "What do you mean?"

He looked at Isolde, who was still searching for her cards on the far end of the counter. He arched a finger to tell me to come to the corner, so I followed. "I've noticed the way you look at the young lady; actually, I've noticed all you've been doing is staring at the girl ever since she's BEEN here."

"Does that mean anything?"

"It seems like you must like her, AHEM, a _lot…_"

"GRANDPA!"

"Shhhh!!" He pressed his finger against puckered lips. "Don't be so loud!" he looked behind me to make sure Isolde didn't hear my screech. "Besides, Yugi, I know exactly what I saw, you are definitely under cupid's spell." Grandpa smiled happily all of the sudden. "I know, why not ask her to go with you somewhere today?"

"Are you asking me to ask Isolde to go out with me?" ---Did that sound weird or is it just me?

"No not yet, just for a friend's outing."

I said nothing at all. _A friend's outing?_ I thought for a second or two.

Before I had anymore time to think, Isolde appeared behind me. "I've found some exceptional ones, Mr. Motou!"

At the sudden voice I had automatically jumped and fallen to the ground in a crashing yelp. God she makes me so paranoid!

"Alright then." Grandpa excused himself from me, though I was busy rubbing my head painfully.

Isolde paid for the cards, and was on her way out but made sure to give me a sidelong glance. "I guess I'll see you later."

I peered over at Grandpa as he mouthed for me to ask Isolde what he had suggested earlier.

"Yeah I guess so." I said to Isolde, ignoring Grandpa.

She smiled a small one. "…Goodbye, Yugi." She turned around to bow to Grandpa, hair sliding off her shoulders and to the ground. "And thank you Mr. Motou."

"Anytime, my dear, anytime at all. Come back again if you like!" Grandpa waved, and then soon glared at me viciously. He spanked his hard folded in fan on the top of my head, making me yelp and put my hands over my head to shield myself.

"Ow, Grandpa what did you do that for?!" I shouted cheekily at him with one tear of pain under one my eyes as I continued to shield my head.

"I told you to ask her! Ask her right now you big buffoon! Or else…"

As I watched her go, something in my heart urged me to stop her, besides Grandpa. I gulped quickly, "Um…I-I-Izzy, wait up!"

She stopped just inches away from the door and gazed at me from behind her shoulder. "Hm? What is it?"

I at first stared out into space before I could answer her. _Why did I do that? _I dismissed answering my thought, and soon came back to reality. "Oh, uh…I-I-I was w-wondering if…" I struggled for a moment. "…would you like to go out with me?" I looked down to the floor, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. "As a friends outing, I mean!" I quickly informed making sure she didn't get the idea I was asking her on a date.

"…Really?" she blinked in disbelief. Finally believing it was real, she grinned, starry-eyed. "I'd…I'd love to…"

I blinked in disbelief myself. _She actually wants to spend the entire day… with me? Woah! Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea! _

Isolde looked to Grandpa, clutching her bag. "Is it acceptable if I stole him away today, Mr. Motou?"

"Of course!!!" he grinned.

"Alright, how about one o'clock?" She notified me.

I stood to in front of her with this undying smile plastered on my face. "Great timing."

Isolde looked down and up, seeming unsure to do something.

Before I knew it, Isolde leaned over slowly; her lips parted, and pressed their tenderness against my cheek. My face heated up as she pulled back, blushing at her own doing.

"I'll see you at one." She smiled happily, eyes gentle as she hugged her bag, details swaying with a magical wind probably only I could see. She turned, her mane swooshing and walked to the door, leaving me in a state of confusion, shock, and happiness.

I could feel myself melt with my face steaming heat from my deep blushing. It was like being kissed by the Mystical Elf HERSELF. I felt the warmth of my cheek, which was either from me blushing so heatedly or her kiss, whatever it was, it made me feel VERY good inside.

"My, my, that's some spell you're under." Grandpa crossed his arms.

**END OF POINT OF VIEW**

"_Good, now we can find out some information from that Millennium item."_ The spirit observed.

Contained within the Millennium Puzzle, Yami searched the thousands of gold doors of hidden secrets in the vessel of his mind. So much he still didn't know about himself was either hidden or forbidden from him in his own mind.

While he continued this endless search of the secretive, a hidden forgotten door glowed with an intense white light before him. Yami hesitantly reached for the handle as it continued to shine its bright glow.

He pulled the handle and stared into abyss before him. The Pharaoh was pulled into the past events contained in the light.

Flashing images bypassed him as if contained in large screens in constant speed. Each image showed him a glimpse of events from perhaps truth. Each image of the passing screens revealed him as present Pharaoh in Egypt, and the image of a young woman beside him.

The eye of Ra appeared on Yami's forehead as one flash back finally revealed itself in normal motion.

_**/Flash back/**_

_**The Pharaoh stood at his balcony over his city in the night, eyes wandering over every building through the black line of darkness. He intensely thought about the ways of future foreshadowing his rule. The Pharaoh gave out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. His hands touched against his cold Millennium Puzzle.**_

_**Yes, the time was near. **_

_**His eyes fell upon the night air as he lifted himself from the edge of the gold balcony. **_

_**A beast soared through the sky as the air pressure balanced it at its angle. It croaked loudly as its reins were jerked. Its scaly body was an iguana, but its muzzle was a beak, with red, purplish feathers that lined its head, temples and back and fanned tail feathers at the end of its iguana scaled tail. Large purplish, bluish red feathers expanded the length of its spreading wings. Its back legs were a lizard's short length, while its forelegs were sharp falcon talons.**_

_**The iguana/bird bellowed as the floppy skin under its neck jiggled. The person on its back pulled its reins again causing it to arch its back and rocket towards the Pharaoh clumsily. **_

_**The beast perched itself on the tip of the temple top, rearing back like a horse to let out a battle cry. The feathered lizard scaled down the brick wall and flapped airborne some feet above the balcony ground to let its rider jump from its back and land before the Pharaoh. **_

_**The King of Giza turned his body to face his guest. **_

_**The beast rider approached him, dressed in a brown cloak. They uncovered the cloak from their face now revealing an Egyptian soldier's headdress helmet. "My Lord," Quickly the warrior kneeled before their Pharaoh. "The Congresses are debating over battle or assassination. Either way one will be killed. When they decide to invade is unknown; I was nearly spotted before I got the last note of their conversation. I suggest we be prepared for battle as soon as possible."**_

_**He furrowed his eyebrows deeper, and looked off into the void beside him. **_

"_**You feel something too, my Sa-Ra?" they stood. **_

_**The Pharaoh's hand fell over the gold pyramid around his neck. "…I feel there is a dark presence roaming Egypt, which will corrupt my deepest powers very soon…" **_

"…_**Even I feel your fears breathing down my neck when night falls." The head covering was taken off the warrior spy, sunburned hair strands falling from out of the back of the helmet that fell over their backbone. Amber eyes gazed deeply into the Pharaoh's amethyst ones. "But if we don't conqueror these fears, then how can we conqueror the War of Darkness riding through the sands of Giza and into Luxor?" **_

_**His orbs glittered in the night as he stared at the stunning deity before him. **_

_**Her bands were thin and even in comparison to her thickened hair, with curled hair caressing her cheeks while. Gold wing barrettes pieced a few wild gold strands behind her head. "Sa-Ra, we are already losing a battle we haven't even begun to fight yet." Her accent? Heavily Egyptian and elegant. **_

"_**We've been fighting this battle since the day I let you enter into my land." His voice conquered hers, but not to offend her.**_

_**Her honey orbs fell to the gold brick beneath their feet. "…The Gods have been angry with us…or for what's happening here. The spirits of those desolate monsters have gotten out of hand…and I feel Seto is—**_

_**The Pharaoh hushed her lips gently with his hand. He shook his head boldly. "Don't speak of his name so freely. We have spies everywhere, even traitors of our own." He whispered close to her face, "I know what you're afraid of, I'm afraid too. And if my senses are right, he who is driven by hate and dark deceit**__**is out for me once again…"**_

_**The girl snatched his hand from her lips. "…What if **__he's__** the one who is controlling the darkness falling upon Ra's sun? What if…**__he__** succeeds in taking you away for good, Sa-Ra?!"**_

"_**Then you mustn't think like that." He held her shoulders as the stingy wetness shown in the white of her eyes while his hand stroked over her bangs. "You once told me, that we can overpower anything. Together, we are strong." He lifted his Millennium Puzzle from his neck. "And I promise you don't need to worry about what will become of me…only worry about yourself." **_

"_**My King…" she breathed ever so breathlessly. Her lips quivered as she tried to seal her upbringing tears. "If I should be worried about me, then why on earth should I not be worried about you?" **_

"_**Do you trust me?" his eyes seemed to glow harmonizing with his deep but mild voice, even through pitch black.**_

_**In the spell of her gorgeous King's beauty and golden superiority, she could only lift a breath from her throat. Carefully she redeemed herself and spoke, "Never…" **_

_**The sensation of his lips sealed over hers for a warm moment, and drew back with a sort of "smack" as they released relaxingly. "…Do you trust my love for you?"**_

_**Her eyes opened half way from such warmth streaked over her face. "…Yes, but… I won't ever believe **__your words__**." She tried to smile as his fingers ran up her nape. "…but being the man you are, I'll believe in you and your ability… my King." **_

_**He smiled at her and held her in his bold arms. "Listen to me," his breath blew against her strands of hair behind her ear heatedly. "What if we left tonight, right now…we can take two horses from our staple and ride across the deserts over the east horizon. We wouldn't have to face any wars; we could lose ourselves in the night…" **_

"_**Oh Sa-Ra…" she kissed his jaw line as her fingers caressed it, running past his gold earrings. "You know very well we can't just abandon our people and run away from war. You're forgetting," she looked into his eyes with passion. "We're not ten or fifteen anymore; we have more responsibilities now than just us…and I believe this belongs to you." she carefully lifted a silver cartouche pendant that rested on her bosom robbing, but his hand grasped over hers and caressed it close to her chest. **_

"_**Keep it with you," he whispered lovingly. "If something were to happen to me, you can always hold it dear to your heart and never see me as just a whisper in the darkness…" his lips fell upon hers tenderly, his hands running up her sides as her arms felt up his chest and over his board shoulders. "Remember me, and I'll still be with you as long as you hold me in your memories and in your dreams…"**_

_**She closed her eyes and gasped to let out a small breath before they kissed again, finding warmth between their passions for one another. "Have I ever told you that I love you, Sa-Ra…?" **_

_**He smiled when his lips brushed her nape. "…Every time you look into my eyes…you tell me everything you can't hide…my Thema ("Queen") of Egypt." **_

_**His goddess gripped his cloak between her fingers as she nuzzled her face into his shoulder, feeling ever so safe in the arms of her Pharaoh. "…Do you love me the same…?" she closed the gap between them, wanting him close to her. **_

"_**I love my country, from the golden pyramids to every grain of rich sand and green of every blade of grass, but you are my sun, and I worship you more than my very own Ra…you are my Ra…" Heartwarmingly they found lips once more, sweetly sharing hints of love. "…I love you, my Omorose ("beautiful/beauty/pretty") Thema…" he sighed through their kiss.**_

_**/End of Flash back/**_

Yami was back standing in the center of the thousand doors chamber. He confusedly stared at the golden brick ground beneath him. _"Was that part of a true 5,000 year old past?" _His hand hovered over his chest, his heart. _"…Omorose…"_


	4. She's So High Above Me

_**So High Above Me**_

Yugi stood outside of the Game shop, hopefully wondering if Isolde would even show. A million questions began to pop up in his head.

**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW**

_Is she even going to come? Does she really want to hang out with me? Where is she? How long will it take for her to get here? What are we going to do when she does get here? What type of places does she like? What about a restaurant? Nah that's too date-ish. Maybe the beach? Does she even like the beach? What if she has hydrophobia or something? Why am I asking so many questions?!?_

"I'm so sorry Yugi!" I heard Isolde's voice to my right. "…There was…a…delay that kept me back…" she leaned over and panted, eyes closed with sweat clung to her face. "…I didn't mean to make you wait…"

"Hey, take it easy." I smiled as I put a hand on her back as she leaned over. "We're in no rush, we've got the whole day you know."

"…That's true…" she stood up after her heart rate came back to normal.

My eyes widened as I observed her face. There was a small cut slashed across her cheek. "Izzy, what happened to your cheek there?"

She touched the mark jumpily. She then glanced at her fingertips smeared in blood. "…O-Oh…I accidentally tripped into a thorn bush on the way here. Clumsy ol' me… " She smiled as she brushed the dirt from her mini skirt.

I had just acknowledged her clothes, really. She was wearing a blue pleated skirt and tank top. Her hair wasn't in a bow or anything like that, but instead all resting on one side of her shoulder in a full curl trailing all the way to her thigh. Her braided bangs on the sides were now loose and resting on her chest. She was wearing this kind of cute clueless expression too.

My cheeks went red as I gulped, looking her up and down. "Izzy…y-you look great!"

(Song, "She's So High Above Me by Fastball/Closer Than Just Friends by Surface")

_**She's blood,**_

_**Flesh and bone**_

_**No tucks or silicone**_

_**She's touch,**_

_**Smell, sight, taste and**_

_**Sound**_

She smiled bashfully. "Thanks…"

My mind clicked in a daze. I blinked with a sudden blush following, and then mentally slapped myself…HARD. _URGH! Get it TOGETHER! She'd never get with some guy like you! You're no high-classed rich boy! _

"So," ' Isolde s voice interrupted my thoughts. "What shall we do today?" She fingered her skirt.

I had a nice place in mind. "We could go to the pier! There's a lot of cool rides there!"

"That's cool with me!" she giggled, clasping her hands and finally lightening up from her polite property.

_**But somehow I can't believe**_

_**Anything should happen…**_

_**I know where I belong…**_

_**And nothin's gonna happen…**_

A few times as we walked down the sidewalk our shoulders brushed up against one another. I tried to ignore my fluster and pretend nothing happened at all. She would look away and try to do the same. I can't deny I liked the feeling of it though.

Shame she's not for me.

I boldly broke the silence. "Hey! Have you ever been to the rides at the pier?"

She shook her head, dumbfounded. "Not really." I saw her eyes softly sadden before she added more. "After my mother's death, my father and I…haven't really done much together…plus he'd rather be at the Opera."

My own eyes dismayed as I could hear sorrow in her throat.

I stared at her as she was still looking away from me. "Well, at least you get to go now, right?" I smiled 'happily'.

Surprisingly she looked at me sideways before giving me a slim smile right back. "With you it's worth it…"

I blinked dully.

_**Cuz she's so hiiigh**_

_**High above me,**_

_**She's so lovely**_

_**She's so hiiigh**_

_**Like Cleopatra**_

_**Joan of Arc**_

_**Or Aphrodite**_

_**Do, do, do, do,**_

_**She's so hiiiigh **_

_**High above me**_

**END OF POINT OF VIEW**

The two teens reached their destination in good timing. Isolde was bedazzled at the interesting rides they had here. She had obviously never been to a place like this before. Yugi had insisted they went on the roller coaster first.

"Yugi?" Isolde asked, while staring up at the roller coaster with uncertain eyes. "I don't know about this... I mean I've never been on a roller coaster before and that looks scary!"

"Awww relax!" Yugi laughed. "There hasn't been a fatal accident on this roller coaster since, ever…I…think."

She immediately turned her head to him. "You think?! Then how can you be so sure that's true?"

Yugi scratched his head blankly. She had a good point, but if there had been an accident the ride would have been closed off right? "Just don't be scared, this is nothing compared to the stuff I've been through."

"Well then…if you're up to it, I guess I'm up to it too." She looked up the roller coaster's tracks, gazing off aimlessly as Yugi watched her.

His own eyes fell into the deep void of impulsive hopelessness just staring at her with his lips parted between faintly. It was true, she had him charmed…to where he could only pout and wonder what it would be like if they were something more than where they were now.

Maybe if he bought her something pricy, he'd win her over?

_**First class,**_

_**And fancy free**_

_**She's high**_

_**Soc-iety**_

_**She's got**_

_**The best of**_

_**Every-thing**_

She turned to him, turquoise eyes full of verve and oceanic vigor.

Yugi quickly jerked back as his face heated, making Isolde cock her head.

_**What could a guy like me,**_

_**Ever really offer? **_

"Yugi, are you alright? You look so pale…"

Yugi sweatdropped and then rubbed the back of his head frantically, glimpsing off. "Uhhh nooo, no, I'm good! Everything's PERFECTLY fine!"

She blinked, long eyelashes fluttering. "You sure? You don't look it…"

God, she was just too cute to resist. "I'm fine, really!" he waved his hands around. "So, we gonna go on or not?"

She once again glanced up at the high tracks. "S-sure thing…"

…Yugi left out a huff of hopeless breath.

_**She's perfect as she can be**_

_**Why should I even bother? **_

Isolde and Yugi headed for the roller coaster and strapped in, one in excitement, one in fright. Once in the coaster car, Isolde examined the drops and high routes on the tracks for the roller coaster. She sweat dropped with some fear as she sunk into her seat.

Yugi noticed, and tried to encourage. "Hey, it won't be that bad. You'll be fine, I give you my word."

"Al…alright." She gulped uneasily. To an unexpected surprise, the girl had slipped both her arms under Yugi's right arm. She clung to him nervously.

Yugi's face became the color of a sunset as his eyes widened.

He felt the need to say something but the ride had already shot off. Their cars and the ten others reached the top of the high point automatically.

_**Cuz she's so **_

_**Hiiigh**_

_**High Above me**_

_**She's so lovely**_

_**She's so hiiigh**_

_**Like a Cleopatra**_

_**Joan of Arc**_

_**Or Aphrodite**_

_**Do, do, do, do,**_

_**She's so, **_

_**Hiiigh**_

_**High above me**_

"Hey look!" Yugi pointed to what was underneath them. "You can see the whole park from here."

"Please don't make me…" Her eyes were shut tight as she still hung on to her companion's arm.

Yugi smiled, and released from her grasp, putting his arm around her. "C'mon, you'll be fine with me by your side." He softly told her.

This made the girl finally open her eyes and make her feel a bit better at the feeling of Yugi pulling her closer, just before the dropping point.

"I'll make sure nothing's going to happen to you." He smiled kindly with his eyes lifted upwards in contentment.

Once the drop came, she shut her eyes again and chanted, "WE'RE GONNA DIE!! WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!!"

The feeling of her losing her body weight as she dropped was so uncomfortable. It was like she was so light and yet was gonna plummet to her death eventually.

After the few passing moments, the roller coaster came to a stop. The two got out, with Isolde still clung to him.

"Hey, scaredy cat." Yugi friendlily joked. "The ride is over! You don't need to be afraid anymore." He tugged her arm a bit.

She hesitated to let go. "Wh-Who said I was afraid!" she stuttered, a bit dazed.

"Yeah right," He snickered. "You wouldn't stop screaming till we came to a complete stop!"

Isolde took her stance. "No I didn't!"

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Did too."

"Did not!" she frowned and looked away with her arms folded, yet secretly smiling.

"Did too." Yugi grinned.

"Did not! A-And! No more roller coasters! I beg of you!" she jerked his arm down with pleading eyes. "I don't like them!"

Yugi just teased her more by getting out of her grasp and taking her by the hand to drag her to another roller coaster. "Keep your eyes open this time!"

"Yugi you're PURE wicked deceitful evil! Why would you wanna to sell out your own friend like this?!" –She was losing her accent. Speaking out of proper tongue was making politeness of the Britain accent wear off on her, and it was quite entertaining.

"You have to face your fears sometime, Izzy! If you don't, then they'll always take advantage of you all your life and beat you down into a weaker person. It might even cause you to sell your soul to the shadows if you can't become or overcome your fear."

She halted as he stopped too, Yugi blinking in confusion. She looked down to her feet in deep contemplation…

Maybe a…stuffed teddy bear of gold bars would cheer her up? How do you brighten smiles on a rich girl's face, anyway?

_**What could a guy like me**_

_**Ever really offer?**_

_**When she's so high above me?**_

_**And so lovely?**_

After the roller coaster, the two went on every ride that was there to ride on, expect for one more they had been saving for last. This was a special ride Yugi was hoping to save the best for last.

"Why don't we try the Ferris wheel, now?" Yugi pointed to the huge wheel decorated in bright lights. "It's a perfect ride to see the view of the ocean."

Isolde seemed pleased finally, looking to him in a brilliant gaze. "Sounds civilized!"

He flinched automatically, feeling extreme heat in his skin. He hated when she looked at him that, with the light twinkling in her eyes and all, for it made him flush cherry nonstop and give him these unusual twists and churns inside. She was alluring, no doubt about that, and that's another thing that made him timid in her presence.

_**She calls to speaks to me**_

_**I freeze**_

_**Immediately**_

Isolde reached for Yugi's arm, and pulled him over to the entrance of the fairest wheel. She was uncontrollably grinning, excited to get on. Finally, the two were next in line. They were now set in their orange cart. Each cart began to rise up slowly on the uplifting wheel as it activated.

Isolde stared over the edge of the swinging cart curiously.

Yugi had never been on a Ferris wheel before, especially with a girl he grown attached to. "I hope we'll stop at the top." He wished aloud.

Isolde darted her eyes to him. "I do too. I would love to see the ocean from the highest view."

The swing seats continued to move along, and as probably predicted, the ride came to a halt with Yugi and Isolde at the very top.

"What do you know," Yugi murmured. "My wish came true."

"…Wow…" Isolde gasped with delight and astonishment. "I've never seen the ocean so lovely like this…breath-taking, isn't it?" Though, the sun wasn't at a set over seas, it still seemed magical.

Yugi finally took a peek over at the view of enchantments. "Hey, it really is awesome!"

Her eyes sparkled in the sun's bathing rays as before. Yugi locked his amethyst eyes with the eyes of water. "…Romantic too…"

The wind blew in a soft relaxing breeze, with it scattering and toying Yugi and Isolde's blonde bangs and the rest of their hair detail. Both teens smiled in unison in mixed emotions.

_**And the way**_

_**She looks at me**_

_**Smiles at me**_

_**And speaks to me**_

_**Feels so, un..**_

_**Real…**_

"…Izzy…" Yugi softly began, but finding he couldn't say anything else with a blank mind. "…Uh…" he looked up and scratched his head in perplexity to search for his lost words.

The girl escaped a small giggle. "What's on your mind?"

"…Well…it's just that…" Yugi began, again feeling blank. "…I…" he had longed earlier to say something, but it was forbidden to reappear in his words. He knew it was forbidden. But finally it popped out. "There was no one else I would have wanted to this with today, rather than you…" this wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, but it was a good cover-up.

_**Still somehow I can't believe**_

_**That anything should happen**_

Isolde's eyes broadened before they softened and looked down. "Thanks…"

"Y…Y-You're welcome." Involuntarily, he felt the guilt and the confusion.

The swing carts came back down, and their special moment was promptly over.

_**I know where I belong**_

_**And nothin's gonna happen…**_

It was now **4:56pm**, so Yugi and Isolde hung around the pier longer. Yugi had gotten a large fluff of cotton candy for the both of them, picking fluffy pieces off to taste. Soon enough he accomplished winning over a stuffed Kuriboh for Isolde. She laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek, turning him stiff as a red stone.

_**She sweetly**_

_**Kisses my cheek**_

_**Yet still I can't believe**_

_**That anything would happen**_

By now they were walking along the wooden pier road and out of the amusement park.

"Well, now's a good time to watch a beautiful sunset, what do you say?" he turned to her.

"Seems like a good idea to me..." Isolde happily nodded while hugging her Kuriboh tighter to her. She walked closer to him down the wooden path to the rail, where you could stare out to the blue waters of the mysterious sea.

They stood in front of the railing and watched as a lovely red sun set over the gingery indigo waves.

Two dolphins somersaulted out of the ginger tidal waves and in front of beaming light reflecting on their slippery backs.

"This is truly beautiful to watch; motionless air." Isolde smiled as she closed her eyes and felt the salty winds rush up underneath her skin.

He urged himself to say something, until he suddenly ran his eyes down to their now locked hands. Isolde saw this heating blush across his horrified face and followed his eyes to see the cause as well. They both slowly reached eye level, for both were blushing a deeper shade than the sunset.

_**It's hard**_

_**To explain**_

_**When she's close to me**_

_**I get a warm sensation inside**_

Yami's spiritual form watched the two love birds yelp and let go. He raised his eyebrows at the recent action of these two. He tossed his head slowly.

Yugi cleared his throat while Isolde leaned over the rail.

"See…I knew this day would be perfect somehow…" Isolde whispered delicately. "Well, spending it with you was what perfected it all..."

He smiled shyly at the ocean waves hitting full force against the concrete walls. "…Same here…"

_**Right now,**_

_**We're just friends**_

_**But I hope someday you surrender**_

_**To love so tender**_

She gave him one of her small smiles. "And you cared enough to want to even take me here?" she forced a laugh. "That's such rarity for me…"

He arched his eyebrows in some sorrow. "Why's that?"

"I've never had anyone take me to a fun place like this before, just my mother." She softly whispered with a fake smile and quivering lips. "Aha, thereeee I go, LINGERING again. Sorry, sorry, it's hard to avoid these things all of the sudden."

"Wait, hang on." Yugi stared at her with concern as she still looked at the sunset. "No one? What about your dad? He cares about you, right?"

"Not anymore…" she rolled her eyes. "After my mother's death, he became a drunken mess. It's affected his mind so much, it scares me. I mean, we still have money and arrive at the parties and festivals, but right when we get home, he goes straight to his bottle."

"So then…the richly manners and whatnot are—"

"An act. Now, anyway." Her back foot tapped the wooden ground with her toes repeatedly. "But he never fails to forget me after school or when he goes out of town. I might as well not be living to him. He's forgotten me completely. I'm just a wandering spiritual phantom around the house who is only acknowledged when I guess I do something wrong, or some little detail that pisses him off. I'm neglected when he's in a good mood, but abused when he's in a wasted and angered mood. So, I have to act like the maid around the house and take care of myself. In a way, my dad is the only person in the world who sees me when he _wants_ to…"

Yugi's eyes ran down to the dried bruise slashed across her arm like a dagger had pierced her cream-colored skin.

_**Girl, I don't wanna lose you**_

_**By putting my cards on the table**_

_**You know I' m thankful**_

_**For what we have**_

_**But I've got feelings inside**_

_**So strong I can't hide**_

Isolde put a hand over the bruise, stroking the cut across. "…I forgot to get his cigarettes and dropped a few wine bottles on the way home…we got into an argument today before I met up with you…I was punished with cut glass." She just chuckled with a fraud mindset, rolling her watery eyes as if it were nothing. "But whatever. It's just…whatever."

Yugi showed much agonize within his amethyst eyes of disturbance. "…Isolde, does your father know you're here with me today…?"

She shook her head guiltily. "I know, I'm making it harder on myself, don't tell me…"

His hand slipped over the slashed arm and stroked her skin gently to warm her feelings from desolation. "I'm sorry…you have to go through so much torture everyday with your father." His own eyes equaled her gaze.

_**I**_

_**Won't push you**_

_**As long as you know**_

_**That my love is**_

_**True**_

She blinked at him curiously. "Why? It's not your fault my father turned into an alcoholic and abusive monster." There was a hint of anger mixed in with sadness.

Yugi's eyes softened yet trembled at her words. "But Izzy, it's not just something I can smile about and say it's totally fine. I wish I could help you somehow…anything to make you feel better, to take the pain away."

_**If you**_

_**Don't know**_

_**How I feel for you**_

_**It's time I let**_

_**All**_

_**Feelings show**_

She rested her chin and arms on the railing. "No, you don't need to…you've already accepted your burden in befriending me. I will just have to try and solve this problem on my own. I'm used to doing stuff on my own nowadays."

"…But Izzy, c'mon—"

"Yugi, really," Isolde cut him off. "I can handle it."

Yugi sighed heavily, seeing she's stubborn. "Listen, I'm just worried about you; I don't want to see you in any sort of pain…" he stood closer to her. "You've already got me caring about you as if my life depended on your safety…"

_**I care for you**_

_**And I'll never let you go**_

Isolde smiled down on the ocean waters in shy eyes. "…Honestly, Motou?"

"What are friends for?" Yugi smiled, with his heart wanting it to be more than friendship.

_**Get closer to you, Baby**_

_**Closer than just friends**_

_**How about you?**_

_**How…**_

_**About you?**_

"Jesus Christ, then…I'm so lucky to have someone like you." She snuggled up against his chest, a blush glazed over his face as she hummed in warmth. "…And I know your friends love you to death."

"…I haven't really done a lot, but…I guess I have helped a little." He smiled down on her, feeling his heart receive wings. Nervously his hand slipped around her waist, drawing her nearer, with his cheek nuzzled into her hair.

He had only known her for a few days…

_**I know you're probably thinkin'**_

_**That you've heard this so many times before**_

_**But girl,**_

_**When you're here**_

_**I want you to stay**_

_**And when you're gone**_

_**I want you even more**_

He watched as the winds entangled their currents with the wavers of her thin hair strands, his arm now moving up to her back to bring her closer into his side. Yugi just smiled heavenly, goofily, dreamily as his chest inflated deeply.

_**I've got feelings inside**_

_**They're so strong I can't hide**_

_**I wanna get closer to you, Baby**_

_**Get closer than just friends**_

_**How…**_

_**About…**_

_**You?**_

_**(End of Songs)**_

"_Yugi!"_Yami's loud and deep voice interrupted his moment. _"Once again you're forgetting about the Millennium item."_

"Oh yeah!" Yugi thought out loud. He had completely forgotten all about it. "Um, Iz'…" he retracted from her, giving her an unsure expression. "There's something I really need to ask you…"

Isolde's mind also clicked all of the sudden, seeing his Puzzle. "There's something I have to ask you too!"

"Where did you get that Millennium item?!" they both asked in unison at one another.

Yugi and Isolde stared at each other with perplexed faces, though Isolde's eyes found Yugi's Millennium Puzzle first. "…I can't believe you actually managed to piece together the Millennium Puzzle…" she gasped, just staring at it in disbelief. "That's remarkable…and to think," her eyes found his. "The one we were looking for was actually you…"

Yugi looked at her uneasily. "I couldn't believe you had a Millennium item either. B-But I want to know now, how you found it and why it seems to connect with my Millennium Puzzle…."

Isolde nodded as her hand caressed over the Millennium Bracelet clamped around her arm. "She'll tell you everything you need to know…"

"What do you mean, 'she?' Who's 'she?'"

"Oh, forgive me for not being more specific. The spirit of my Millennium Bracelet has a conjoined past with the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle."

Yugi's jaw dropped as Yami's spirit stared at her in widened eyes.

**YAMI'S POINT OF VIEW**

I couldn't believe what this girl was telling us. I don't remember having anyone close to me within my past life. _**'Conjoined Past? With whom is Isolde talking about? Unless…this may have something to do with those visions earlier.' **_

"_What visions?"_ Yugi mentally asked me.

"_I had a sudden flash back earlier. It showed me something from within my past life…"_I answered still shocked at the moment.

"_What did it show you, Pharaoh?"_

Before I could answer Yugi's question, Juliet spoke once again.

"We've been searching for the Pharaoh for years, knowing he was still contained in his Millennium Puzzle over five millennia. Now we have found him in you, Yugi, your Yami."

"You know about the Pharaoh too?!" Yugi's voice shouted with a longer jaw-slacked face.

"I also know of the Queen of Egypt and what the Pharaoh is capable of. I know about their ancient powers. The Millennium Bangle and that Millennium Puzzle are conjoined in a very strong way but secretive way." She looked down on her golden bracelet the entire time.

'_**Wait, Queen of Egypt? I can't recall such memories.' **_My mind clicked once more.

"How do you know all this?" Yugi asked her.

"Why doesn't the Pharaoh ask the Sacred Queen herself?"

Without warning, both of the Millennium items activated with freewill. The bright light of gold blinding-shine filled our eyes.

"Wha-What's happening?!"

**END OF POINT OF VIEW**

The light of both Millennium items began to dim gradually. Yami was now in the place of Yugi. He looked around, at first slightly puzzled. That happened so sudden. He quickly found all attention ahead of him, flinching with wide and buggy eyes.

"It's been five millennia, thus you seem no different, My Sa-Ra." It was the soothing voice of an Egyptian deity to his ears. "Yes, just alike as always."

The Pharaoh blinked at the stature before his sight. His face then recuperated the solemn look and furrowed eyebrows of attentiveness. He looked her up in the dictionary of his mind, realizing it was the same person he had seen in his apparitions. The same young lady with the thin, flowing hair that resembled bronzed gold all the way to her ankles, two long bangs on the side of her temples that reached to her waist…

Her appearance immediately intrigued all his interests. "Just who are you, exactly? And why have I seen you in my visions lately?" his voice was deeply stern, almost alarmed.

"As if I'm supposed to understand the realm of YOUR mind, Sa-Ra." The young woman teased, and then turned to the railing as she leaned over it with eyes gazing at the waves clobbering against the wall. "So …you can't evoke me into familiarity?"

Yami simply arched an eyebrow. "I don't even know your _name_."

Her eyes widened as her head spun around to him. "But Atemu, I…" she stopped herself, chuckling. "No…your memory has never served you loyally for years, I should know this…"

_Atemu?_"If you answered my first question, maybe it will ring a bell." His eyes progressively found a silver circle with a horizontal bar at the bottom, elongated into an oval around her neck lying promptly on her chest. He saw as the pendant seemed to have some Egyptian engraving on its silver sleekness that just suddenly became visible. It was that very same pendant in his visions…

Her eyes found the ornament his eyes couldn't stray from. She lifted it to see it for herself, eyelids falling low. "It's what kings' names are written in. It is believed to act as a protector of that king's name. The sign represents a loop of rope that is never ending, the symbol and protector, Shen."

She looked up at him with soft, sad honeyed-amber eyes, before these ancient, unique eyes of the past faced the ocean. "My name is, Yahshi Kamilah Shani…but you wouldn't remember that, now would you?"

Yami's face was at a loss. But wait…

Yes, now she became familiar.

"Sacred Queen Yahshi Kamilah Shani?"

'Yahshi' walked towards him until they stood inches apart. His face showed an eager look of what her next move were to be, still the Pharaoh seemed a bit paranoid of her standing so close to him. But...why? He was never paranoid toward a girl, woman, female, a feminine being!

Her eyes went soft, yet knowledgeable. "It doesn't really matter anymore, whether you know my name or not, my beautiful Sa-Ra. Do you know your own name, at the most? Or for once, were gossips about you right?"

"All of my memories were erased centuries ago…" Yami filled in, rather quickly.

Her eyes narrowed more. "Everything?" She looked up at him directly, with her questioning amber eyes flickering in the small beams of setting sunlight.

"_Everything_." Yugi's Yami tensed, muscles tight, attitude steely. He was giving that dominant posture of authority; the way a Pharaoh should stand.

This ancient stranger before him was longing to say something else, but found herself speechless in a drowning of such commanding amethyst eyes that shined symbolically like unbreakable jewelry. Red was upon her cheeks as she could've been perhaps edgy to spill her words. She was nervous, now. When he acted superior, he was hard to speak to let alone look at. But finally, she managed to speak under an unwilling flush:

"I-I missed you for millennia, _Atemu_. I missed us and all those old memories I thought would last in our minds forever…" she smiled, within her eased tone of voice. "What's a love without remembrance of it?"

His eyes widened. _Love…it was…love?_

Those words implied everything. It wasn't in his best interests or concern whether someone loved him or not. He never thought about_ love_ before. He was never _looking _for love, and it meant nothing whether he found it or not. But hearing the word suddenly jingled a merry chime from the deepest depths of his heart that forwarded all thoughts to it.

"I haven't forgotten everything." He smirked ever so faintly and folded his arms in his process, one eyebrow lifted. "I can still seem to never forget your face. Last night…" He stared out into the open waters this time. "I had a vision about you and I, on the balcony of my palace. We were talking about a foreshadowing war of…some sort." He suddenly grunted and sealed his eyes shut in stress. "I can't remember all of it…"

"Don't fret; I know what you're talking about, my Sa-Ra…" Her fingers dragged up along the back of his masculine shoulder blades until they rested atop his shoulders. "Always so tense here, still after five thousand years. Ease yourself for once, will you?" She giggled inwardly, massaging him. "You think too much, and it tenses up your entire body."

He felt himself drift off into warm feelings of affection. Her touch was beautiful. Perhaps…Yugi's love illness was contagious? But for the great and strong-willed Pharaoh, the Yami of Yugi, to fall under the will of this "feeling"…he could never fall under darkness or weakness, hopelessness or anything threatening, yet his will fell under love all those centuries ago…how ironic.

"I guess I should be grateful that I found you at least." Yahshi smiled happily again, making the rhythm of Yami's heart dance faster for some reason unknown to him after he turned to face her.

He struggled to control all his thoughts roaming off to that four-lettered word.

She wrapped her arms under his, and rested safely on his bold chest just to recall old times. A soothing hum of warmth escaped her…

His heart jumped automatically, oddly, when he felt the vibration of it against his breast. He tilted his head to try and see her peaceful face. "Yahshi—

She silenced him with a delicate finger, lips parted.

The warm contact of her skin against his lips made heat rise in his cheeks. He barely knew this sensual stranger, yet she was driving his emotions insane inside.

"Shhh," she smiled with softened eyes as her hands slowly drew his arms around her waist. "Please don't say anything." She closed in on him. "I want to give you agift…so you can remember me better." her lips were inches from his, brushing his as she talked sensually. "And to help me remember too…"

He just stood there, frozen. He suddenly felt the spongy impact of her lips planted on the smooth surface of his own. She closed her amber orbs as his amethyst eyes widened.

This Yahshi person pulled away little by little, an irresistible smile spreading crosswise on her face.

Yami blinked in utter shock and stupefaction. He couldn't remember ever being kissed by anyone. It was something he thought he'd never experience. He felt his lukewarm lips when she retracted her forehead from his. "…I…I don't remember anything…" he breathed, amazed.

"Here," Yahshi rested her hand upon the Millennium item around Yami's neck. "I want to show you something, and maybe it will help." She closed her eyes, and again, both Millennium items began to be showered over in light.

Everything was taken into the bright illumination of enlightenment.

**TO BE CONTIUNED….**


	5. Present and Millennia Amorousness

_**Present and Millennia Amorousness**_

_A little girl snuck through the hallway passages, looking down both its golden bricked pathways before reaching the exit. A few guards passed the passage with javelins spears facing upright. She watched them go by and did a double take before running across and throwing herself outside of the temple-palace. She looked behind her and ran, stumbling clumsily before getting back up and running through the outside border of her temple, seeing fresh sand before her. _

… _She leaned over on her knees for support and panted. Finally she was outside of her kingdom, her home, her royalty. She was free to make her own adventures and no one would know of her 'run-away'. _

"_Pst!" she called, yanking a gold chain in her hands she picked up beside the cheetah statue. "Sabah! Come!" she yanked the chain again._

_The two statues designed as big cats sat on the pillars next to the entrance way. One, a cheetah sat upright and in perfect posture, suddenly shook out its tan fur and stepped down from the steps, lazily lickings its paws._

"_Sabah!" the girl put her hands on her hips, yanking the gold chain connected to the gold clamp necklace around its neck._

_The big cat lazily approached her in its long stretched out legs. The coat was that of the usual cheetah, except had a black full line trailing down its back and thicker much fuller black spots. Sabah was an Emperor Cheetah, one of many rare sights._

"_Sabah, come now! Stop dawdling!" she yanked the chain._

_Sabah's tongue hung from his mouth as he drooled from the heat and lied his belly on the sand in front of her._

_She sighed and kneeled down beside her pet. "Sabah…do you think we made the right choice? To run away?"_

_The big cat just tilted his head back and rubbed against her cheek roughly in purrs._

_The girl pushed her pet's head away from her face and concentrated on her goals with a determined face. "You're right! They won't miss me anyway. Come on, Sabah!" _

_This particular child had planned to wander out of her boundaries, and into another's. _

_She patted the rear of her cheetah to signal it to stand up. Since Sabah was much bigger than her, the girl was able to climb onto the back of her pet and clutched the tuff of fur on its back, but had trouble as Sabah continued to walk along anyway._

"_Sabah!" she fussed._

_The cheetah took off across the deserts at top speed with the girl on its back. The sand flew behind the pawed tracks of the big cat as they traveled across the Sahara's sands. They continued as they soon entered the tall canyon walls of the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor. _

_The girl buried her face into the cheetah's neck as sand blinded her. Thoughts of home popped up occasionally. Was a second thought coming to mind? _

_**/Flashback/**_

_**She sat on the bricked edge of her window, adoring the breezes tangle within her hair. "Look at it, Sabah…its beautiful isn't? The way Shu's dry winds dance with the sun rays, blessing the morning of Cairo and its people." The girl sighed as she looked upon her world. "…But have you ever wondered, just what was behind these buildings where Ra's sun rises every morning?" she turned to look at her pet, who only flashed its amber eyes to see her, and then sleepily closed them. "Sabah you care nothing of the Gods or their blessings over our country, do you?" the princess laughed.**_

_**The emperor cheetah's back deflated as it turned its head away from his mistress's direction.**_

_**She lied on her bed, a fur material used to be a "mattress" with wooden legs shaped in a lion's leg structure and paws, a lion's tail curving at the foot of the bed, and a lion's outstretched neck and mane as the head of it. She rolled over and stroked the head of her resting pet cheetah. She sighed depressingly and looked out the brick window once more, wishing for freedom. She was in hate of this life; the life of royalty, and worship. She was trapped, forbidden to see the outside world for her so-called "safety." **_

"_**Kamilah?" the Queen called from the entrance of the bricked room. "How are you doing? You haven't said a word since your practice of the prophetess. You're a servant of O' Great Ra now, the virgin rose, chosen one for a daughter of Ra; do you deny your place?"**_

_**The girl lifted her head to her parent. "No, I'm grand of it, Mother."**_

_**The Queen folded in her gown as she took a seat next to her daughter. She stroked her daughter's forehead gently as she rested her head in her lap. "Your tone says otherwise. Something troubles you?" **_

"_**If you insist to know…I don't like these whole preparations to become future Thema. Aren't I too young to even practice, to even know the meaning of being the next prophetess either?" the princess pleaded with her amber eyes for her mother to say she agreed.**_

"_**You should learn some responsibilities now if you want to become Thema. Learning in an early stage is best, especially with the problems of the empires' mayhem. By the way things are going, we may not be around too long, and you must take on our positions and know them well when the time comes. As a future Thema—"**_

"_**But what if I don't want to be Thema?!" she interrupted her mother with a towering yet worrying tone. "I'm always trapped behind the golden bricks of Cairo's walls! I never get to see the outside wonders above these walls, mother I want to see what is that Ra looks upon besides just our kingdom."**_

"_**Oh, my child, the outside world is for one, dangerous. What Ra sees isn't all beauty and graceful wonder. It's for your own safety, for we have enemies, Yahshi. And it is too dangerous to let you out right now. When the new treaty is passed you can be released from escorts." The Queen sat up and turned to the bricked wall, looking out to her city. "My child, being Thema of Egypt isn't all fun and games. You have to do work, make decisions for your entire kingdom. It's in your blood and it is tradition." **_

"_**Well," the girl pouted while crossing her arms. "Maybe I don't WANT to be part of the royal blood anymore."**_

"_**Oh? And just how will you go about that? Cutting your blood vessel?"**_

"_**Mother, it's just not fair! I didn't have freedom even before this war! I have no freedom at all!" the princess ran out of her room and down the hallway with her mother not moving an inch to go after her. **_

"_**She'll see in time…and time will see."**_

_**End of flashback----**_

_No, she decided this, and that was final. She wanted to get away from her so chosen future as far as possible. She just hated it all. Everyone was deciding her future, her things, her freedom and dreams, for her! Why didn't anyone let her speak up for herself for a change? Or make her own decisions? Attempted war shall not stop her wishes. _

_After long hours Sabah slowed down and dismally walked into the path of somewhere unfamiliar to them both. There were marketplaces with all kinds of goods being traded, merchants, camels, sheep, wagons, etc. _

_The gold bricked pyramids stood tall in the back of the lands as she noticed the Sphinx in progress under construction. _

_The princess held the chain to her cheetah tightly as few merchants gave her nasty looks. When the stares frightened her enough, she kicked the sides of her large cheetah and sped up the brick pathway of a few large pyramids' pathways, merchants eying her even more._

_Sabah shook out his mane as he trotted towards the pyramid's opening, slowly walking like a dehydrated beast of the deserts. Yahshi awed as her eyes looked upon the pyramids' storey. She gasped in happiness of the far greater pyramids of perfection. _

_Yahshi made her way past the pyramids, and finally stood before the Avenue of the Sphinxes, looking boldly at the lion shaped sphinxes, resembling the heads of Nectanebo. _

"_Mother told me about this place, the Luxor Temple…this must be it." Yahshi gasped excitedly to herself as she looked ahead of her, seeing this was the entrance leading to the tall gold pillars of a courtyard. "Oh this must be it…!" Cautiously she passed and eyed the large colossal seated statues neighboring the entrance pylon of the Luxor Temple. _

_She and Sabah entered the Inner Courtyard, tall pillars lining beside the entrance of the back chambers. Quickly she jumped off her cheetah and yanked him towards a pillar the moment she saw a few workers and priests pass the hallways. _

"_Quickly, we must find the son of Sa-Ra Akunumkanon!" the guards panicked as they ran through the courtyard, Yahshi's amber eye watching them carefully behind the golden pillar. She took a step back and then slowly made her way to a sacred fountain leading to a certain area in the courtyard. She walked cautiously near its beauty when the halls were cleared, her hand sliding on the hieroglyphics as she walked. _

_She stood before it, and vividly saw her reflection in the clean waters of the fountain. The sun's rays glistened against the ripples brightly. Yahshi smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear._

"_Sabah, I don't understand mother…" she glanced at her cheetah who lied on the floor with his chin on his paw. "How could this outside world be dangerous? It's so lovely and pleasant in so many ways." The wind silently blew a soft breeze through her hair. She closed her eyes and hummed in warmth._

_To a surprise, the eye of Ra appeared on her forehead began to brightly glow for one split second. She blinked, once or twice, a full three times. _

_Sabah lifted his head as he detected a presence. A sudden growl came within him._

_Suddenly someone else's reflection appeared in the water's tiny rhythm waves. The princess gasped as scarlet streaked her face. There in the waters was a young boy, her age, dressed in royal Egyptian clothing; a pair of golden earrings, neck-bracelet that was wide enough to cover his shoulders, two arm-bracelets, and a sleeveless robbing with a gold band tied around his waist with the gown stopping at his knees. The boy's hair was spiked black with red and light purple shaded at the tips of it and also blonde thunderbolt shaped bangs with a bullion crown circlet set on his forehead. His eyes a deep lavender, though he seemed just as surprised as her; his lips were parted with eyebrows boosted, as if bemused. _

_The princess turned around and stared into the eyes of this young stranger with her fist held to her mouth as she blinked, cheeks tainting even pinker. Those eyes…they reminded her of the amethyst ornaments…and they were staring right at her and only her. _

_Muted stillness._

"…_Who are you and what are you doing in the barriers of the Luxor Temple, stranger?" he asked in a curious youthful tone. _

"_M-me?" she tried to contain herself. "O-oh, my name…my name is Yahshi Kamilah Shani…" _

"_Are you from these parts?" he looked her up and down, suspicious. "I've never seen you around here before." _

"_N-no, I come from a different kingdom, um, Cairo, daughter of King Seth and Thema Nephthys. I'm a princess…" She struggled to smile and not seem so nervous. "But, you are who exactly?"_

"_Prince Atemu, son of King Akunumkanon."_

"_Prince?!" Yahshi blinked before stepping up and bowing forward with her hair touching the floor and her head nearly touching her knees. "It's an honor to meet you Prince Atemu. I'm sorry I intruded or disrupted your kingdom!" She stood upright. _

_Prince Atemu scratched the back of his neck. "No, please Princess, just call me Atemu. It gets kinda annoying when everyone calls me Prince Atemu all the time. " He wore a timid smile. "And you didn't disrupt anything!"_

_Yahshi stood on her feet and linked her hands together. "Well, it is very nice to meet you, __**Atemu**__."_

"_Do you mind if… I ask you something?" He plopped himself down on the fountain edge as she sat down quickly also, as if on command._

"_Anything, dear Prince."_

"_Why are you in my land if you have your own?" _

_Yahshi frowned in a pout. "Well why does it matter? I'm not going back there ever again anyway!" she looked down with a stubborn face, cheeks still crimson._

_Atemu leaned forward to see her face. "Well, how come?" _

"_I hate my kingdom in Cairo. Everyone there forces me to do what __**they **__want! I've come to at least escape the pressure of royalty…it's boring too." _

"_Tell me about it. It's horrible isn't it? They always treat you like you're a little infant." He nodded, eying the cheetah next to her which never let up the harsh stare at Atemu as if waiting for him to do something expected or threatening so it could maw him. Quickly Atemu did not make eye contact with her pet._

"_They tell you what to do all the time!" Yahshi pouted looking in another direction._

"_Make choices for you and think it's too foolish for you to do it yourself cuz you're so young!"_

"_Decide your own dreams for you!" _

"_Weigh pressure on you and tell you how to rule when the day comes!" _

"_Decide your own future for you too!"_

"_Make you feel like you won't ever be able to do it when that day comes…"_

"_Egg you on and preach everyday to you how you must know how to rule the right way or how a servant of Ra must act-or something!"_

"_Make you feel afraid to become Sa-Ra when it's time…"_

_These two weren't even paying attention to one another, just speaking freely in different directions. _

"_You just feel so…ensnared." They both said in unison. _

_Atemu and Yahshi stared at each other with flabbergasted eyes. Both broke out a free, slow smile at the same time._

"_You seem to be the only one who can speak my lingo." Yahshi laughed. _

"_You seem to speak mine." Atemu's lips curved into a contented smile. His hand accidentally slid and hit against hers, causing all her hair to stand up on her head as her face was rowed with red stripes. "Oh, f-forever sorry!"_

_Sabah rumbled in his throat as his eyes became fierce and wide in a deadly threatened sense as he watched Atemu._

"_Pressure is no picnic when it comes to being worshipped. I'm supposed to be the successor of all Kings of Egypt, as so legend tells it. I wonder if the Gods ever got bored of being worshipped too…" _

"_You suppose it could be worse." Yahshi grinned. "And I'm supposed to be the prophetess of Ra, the daughter of the great sunbird, the 'virgin rose' of Cairo, or so legend and the prophecy has it…" _

"_A wielder of Ra?" _

"_I presume so," she shrugged. "…I can call forth the spirits of those monsters mother always spoke of, even without those ancient disks they use to duel with the spirits of the shadows…" _

"_You can?!"_

"_Mm-hm, but mother tells me I would need the power of a Millennium item to wield calling upon the Gods, and I can only do such ritual if I am the chosen one…but…truly, I'm…I'm feeling a bit insecure and afraid about it…it makes me feel like time depends on me." her eyes fell low. "…I don't want to become something everyone must depend on…"_

"_You know…I kind of wish there was some way I could help you…" Atemu scooted closer to her. He had to admit, she was different …for a girl. Not snobby or selfish like the other Princesses he had met._

"_Well…"Yahshi looked down once more, embarrassed at his closeness, Sabah wrinkling his forehead. "That's very kind of you…but I'll do fine, hopefully." Her eyes looked down but Atemu's seemed to follow them. _

"_Yahshi…?" his voice was low. _

_She looked to him quickly. "…Yes?" _

"…_I'm glad I met you…" he smiled widely._

"_As so am I, Prince." Yahshi smiled with glee. This boy was much different from any other person she met. He was so understanding and kind, not rude like all the other little boys were to her. _

_They stared brightly into one another's eyes, feeling not so alone anymore._

_Atemu's smile went coy and somewhat confused to see her turn away in fluster. "…You know, you won't like me very much after I say this, but you should really go back home. I mean no one out here will just take you in, no matter how controlling your kingdom is, it's safer." _

"_But I can't go back! No! I promised to never return and that's that! No one can make me go back! Even Sabah agrees! Right, Sabah?!" she pointed to her big cat, just to realize it was no longer there. She blinked blankly, "Sabah…?" worry and fear levels rose. "Oh no! My guardian pet is gone!!!" _

_Atemu just watched as she looked under pebbles for the cat. "…Yes but, it is only fair to your parents, right?" _

_Yahshi stopped calling and searching and spun around to Atemu on her heel, hair flying in the breeze, and hands on hips in sass. "And what about me? I want fair too. But nothing is ever fair in the lands of my kingdom." She looked away and crossed her arms._

_The prince only laughed as he saw her sassiness. "Stubborn princess, aren't you?"_

_She cracked an eye open, "HEY!"_

_He chuckled once more before approaching her. "But honestly, it's the best choice, Yahshi." He stood before her. "You're going to miss home soon, and it is best that you go back before nightfall and someone here discovers you." _

"_But you've discovered me, so what's the dilemma?" Yahshi was looking at Atemu with apprehensive eyes. _

"_It's law that royalty without invitation to even step foot on our sand will be warned or imprisoned. See, where you're from, my dad and your parents' lands don't get along well. History with your people and mine hasn't engraved its name with good details. Whoever is most dominant is the declaration of war, well, that's what Father says. Besides, that's the penalty for uninvited royalty from across the deserts like you, to be allowed in these lands without being sent or invited for. For all they'd know, you'd be a spy and look for ways to the empire's downfall."_

_Yahshi raised an eyebrow with a brief illustrate of fear. "But I'm a simple child, how can I be a spy? Your people think up bizarre solutions. But um, what kind of penalty?" she struggled to not sound desperate and shaken up with the question._

_Atemu forced himself to say the words. "...Beheaded or hung—but only if you are turned in." _

"_Atemu…" Yahshi whispered in grand horror. "You won't turn me in, will you?" she silently waited for his answer. _

_Atemu abruptly lit up a joyful smile. "Of course I won't. I would never let that happen to you, Princess Yahshi. I promise it, with all my heart and it can't be broken by a thousand swords." His smile went away when she saw the unsure look upon her face. "…Do you trust me?"_

"_I…" she hesitated only because of the fact that he is son of her enemy, of her kingdom's foe. Yet she nodded while clutching her Egyptian dress, "Mm-hm." _

"_Good!" Atemu smiled kindly as his eyes lifted closed in happiness. "So, friends…?" he held out his hand._

_Yahshi jumped back with her face getting redder in nervousness as she stared at his held out hand. Slowly she began to reach out for it, heat rising in her cheeks as her eyes softened…_

"_THERE THEY ARE!!!!" suddenly guards were running towards the two children, spears and swords positioned._

_Atemu and Yahshi both gasped in surprise. "OH NO THEY'RE AFTER _

_ME!" they both saidin unity, along with the next sentence: "Wait, they're after you?!" _

"_Atemu, why would they be after you?" Yahshi asked. "This is your kingdom, right?"_

"_To tell you the truth…I was on my way of running away too so I wouldn't have to become Sa-Ra one day soon…just like you don't want to become Thema…guess Father must've sent guards after me right away just in case I got hurt."_

"_And because of me…you wasted your time and wasn't able to run away…"_

"_But if I had, then we would've never found each other…" his eyes lifted closed in a beam of happiness as he grinned at her, snickering. _

_Yahshi just felt the high temperature rising in her face again…_

_The guards approached them heftily, while Atemu took Yahshi's hand and sped off. _

_They ran around the ancient chambers, hoping the guards had lost their track. _

_Atemu looked around the edge. "I don't see anyone..." he did a double take when he realized the guards were closer than he thought._

_The young prince took a deep breath, and looked into Yahshi's eyes. "I promised I wouldn't let them harm you, Princess…"_

_She looked at him confusedly._

"… _When I get their attention, you make a run for it, out of this land, got it? " _

_Yahshi clutched the fabric of his shoulder. "WAIT! Prince Atemu am I…"_

"_What is it?" he frowned in perplexity._

"_Am I…" she furrowed her eyebrows and chewed her bottom lip to spit it out: "…Am I ever going see you again…?"_

_He blinked, but then smiled miserably at her. "…No." He was about to get up, but he was yanked back down by Yahshi's hand. _

"_A-Atemu!" _

"_What is it now?" he fussed, pouting._

_Her face turned ruby as they stared long enough before she pecked his cheek, face flushed over with bright red._

_Atemu stared at her widely as her bangs shadowed over her eyes with her head bowed. This goofy half-smile appeared, and slowly, with hesitation, he let go of her hand. "Goodbye…Princess," his eyes turned from her._

_He took a deep breath after glancing back at her and motioning her to go. Atemu closed his eyes tightly and tackled one of the guards, pushing him over to the floor at the elbow impact. _

_The other two guards seized both the boy's arms. _

"_Settle down, Prince Atemu! You should no better than to run off like that. You know Sa-Ra advises escorts if you were to disappear. We can not sacrifice the loss of our heir, young prince." One guard informed. He signaled for the other two to go after the girl, but she wasn't found. They searched the grounds they could cover. _

_**BENNU'S TOMB**_

_Yahshi didn't know how to exit the kingdom on her own. The kingdom's land was huge, too large for her to escape the unseen boarders. She couldn't go back the way she came, for those guards were still out there looking for her. She wished Prince Atemu was by her side. She was beginning to miss him dearly, even if they had just met, it seemed like they had always known each other, at least to her. _

"…_If we meet again someday, then maybe it'll mean…" she paused when she suddenly saw white hair wavering away before it disappeared behind a wall. She blinked and slowly peeked over the edge of the bricked wall. "…Hello?" her voice echoed. "Anyone here?" _

_A guard came from behind the walls of the ancient tomb on the other side and latched onto her smaller body. He skillfully tied a few chains around her wrists to keep her in place. "Teaches you well, spy from Cairo." _

"_I'm no spy!" Yahshi struggled. "I'm the Princess of Cairo!!" she gasped between her teeth has her hair stood on end. "Oops…"_

"_Princess, huh? Even better, for the Sa-Ra will use you as bait in the War of Dominance." He chuckled to himself. _

_Without warning, a spotted and yellowish tail was lured before his face, flicking off and on. He raised an eyebrow and slowly looked up. A pair of focused amber eyes stared into his soul as the figure crouched upon the levered wall, adjusting its shoulders properly in position before pouncing on its prey._

_Murderess screams were heard in the echoed tomb halls. Sabah was thrown off by the force of the spear, striking him in the belly and leaving a red scar. Sabah circled his prey and hissed angrily, eyes ablaze. _

_The guard struck at the emperor cheetah, king of all cheetahs, but Sabah struck back at the spear's peak. The chain dragged and clunked as Sabah circled again. His eyes stared deeply and dangerously into the human's eyes, fear overcoming the man. Four distant blood lines were marked across the guard's face and legs instantly. He fell to the ground in hollering pain. _

_Sabah sat and licked the blood from his heavy paw. He retreated to Yahshi who was trying to pry the chains off her wrist. "Thanks, Emperor Sabah…" _

_Quickly, a thick rope was fastened around Sabah's neck and legs as six more guards appeared. The cheetah did not surrender without a fight. Three guards were either injured or killed as Sabah chewed on one man's bleeding face, ripping flesh apart. One man threw a sack around the beast's face to cover his eyes and mouth. They seized the blinded cheetah and frightened little Yahshi in chains._

_After shouting and screaming, she was dragged outside, a presence watching her._

_In a cloak and drapes, a woman stared into the darkness against a wall, her own eyes a deep glowing red, black hair covering over the other eye. Her lips curved…_

_**PHARAOH'S THRONE**_

_She was scared, not knowing what the Pharaoh would do to her. _

"_Bow down before Sa-Ra, outsider!" the guard shoved Yahshi to her knees as a tear of pain welled under one of her eyes. She looked upon the Pharaoh, seeing the stern and disapproving look in his harsh eyes. She gulped._

"_Daughter of Nephthys and Seth?"_

_Yahshi nodded wildly. "Y-yes, Sa-Ra-sir!"_

_The Pharaoh grunted, and then closed his eyes in a silent sigh. _

_Yahshi's eyes jerked up to see the Prince standing there beside his father, gazing at Yahshi wide-eyed. He stepped forward, jaw-slacked._

"_Atemu…" she whispered under her breath, face turning rosy pink all of the sudden. She bowed her head as her bangs fell over her eyes in shame._

_The Pharaoh's eyes widened as they darted to Atemu through the corner of his eye. His eye narrowed. __**"Atemu!"**_

_The son of the Pharaoh straightened up. "Y-Yes, father?"_

"_Off with you to Baruti's (meaning, "teacher") practices at this minute."_

_Atemu opened his mouth to protest, looking to Yahshi who blinked._

"_Now, Atemu." the Pharaoh bellowed calmly but loudly._

_Atemu flinched and ran off to do as his father told, knowing his father was angry with him. Instead of heading to Baruti, he hid behind the hallway wall and watched secretly to see what was to be done with Yahshi. _

_The Pharaoh cleared his throat as he turned his attention back to Yahshi, who looked back down without making eye contact, still trying to act respectful to the Pharaoh of another land. "…Now, for you, Daughter of the traitors," he stroked his beard. "…Take her to Bennu's Chamber until Ra's sun rises tomorrow." _

"_Yes, Sa-Ra." The guards bowed and took Yahshi away. _

_The cell bar was opened over the top as she was thrown into an underground chamber. She looked up at the guards before her in a frown. _

"_Hey, that's not how you treat a lady you know!" she flinched as the bars made a large screech before closing._

_**Nightfall**_

_The young princess sighed as she shivered to death. She looked up to see the moon's bright shine over her form. She wiggled her legs a little as they were held tightly to her chest and began to lowly mumble a song to herself as she buried her face into her knees._ _**"Caught by the moonlight**_

_**A silent shimmering in the trees**_

_**Oh what a night for dreams…**_

_**A night of destiny…**_

_**Others are sleeping**_

_**I dream ahead for what I hope for**_

_**And I turn my back on loving you**_

_**You don't know what I'm going through**_

_**This world falls on me**_

_**In this world there's real and make-believe**_

_**This seems real to me…**_

_**I'm torn between this life I lead**_

_**And where I stand**_

_**So let me go**_

_**Just let me go**_

_**Soon-to-be Sa-Ra only knows…**__"_

_She murmured silently to herself after her depressing song was finished, "Mother was right, the outside world is dangerous…why didn't I ever listen?" she sobbed while wiping some tears away. "I should have stayed back in my place...I wished I had never come here!" _

"_If you did that, we would've never met..." A familiar voice whispered. _

_Yahshi looked up and saw the boy above her on the upper and other side of the bars. "Prince Atemu?!" she gasped with joy. _

_He furrowed his eyebrows, pressing his finger against his puckered lips. "Shhh!! Princess, don't be so loud or else you'll get us both in trouble! My father would slay me if he knew what I was doing right now…he's already on my tail." He unlocked the death cell's lock with a golden key. _

_Yahshi just noticed Sabah's face hover over the bar. "Sabah!" _

_Atemu lured down a rope. Yahshi took a hold of it as Atemu tied it to his waist. He pulled her up on the thick rope and finally Yahshi was out of the death cell. _

"_You okay?" He panted in sweat. "You're not impaired or anything are you?" _

"_Thanks to you, I'm fine." Yahshi smiled demurely._

"_Anything for you, Omorose ("beautiful")..." _

_She blushed pink and blinked three times. The red coated her face entirely as her breathing quickened. "…O-Omorose…?" _

_Atemu flinched and blushed also. "I…I didn't mean to…did that make you feel uncomfortable?"_

"…_No, its fine…it's just…" she looked down with a feverish blush forming again. "…No one's ever called me Omorose before…what a sweet name…" she looked up at him. "…Atemu…? Why'd you come back for me…when you knew you'd get in trouble too?"_

"_I made you a promise, remember? If you got hurt, and under my father's cause, I could never forgive him or my people. I mean I…" he paused for a moment._

"_Okay, you have to tell me this time." Yahshi leaned forward as Sabah rubbed his head against her cheek. _

"_What I'm trying to say is… you're just like me, we're two of the same, and…that's unique in my mind." his bangs shadowed his face as he trailed off…_

"_Atemu…" she inched closer to him in a trance. "Please tell me…"_

_Again, for the third time, guards came over to the area the two sat. They were both unaware of these two men seated on their horses approaching. But these guards were none of Atemu's men. _

"_Princess Yahshi Kamilah Shani?" one guard softly asked, covered in a white cloak and gold headdress and startling the girl and Sabah who crouched._

_The princess spun around and gasped with a smile. "Inyahlay?!" _

"_Who's Inyahlay?" Atemu questioned, frowning with his young stern face fixed on the man. _

"_Inyahlay is my main escort, a priest of my mother's staff." Yahshi answered._

_Inyahlay smiled kindly. "Thema Nephthys sent us out to search for you, and finally you've been found, Princess. Come with us back to Cairo. Your parents await your return dreadfully." _

_Yahshi's smile faded. She turned back to her newest friend. "…Atemu…?"_

"_Don't worry, we'll meet again Princess." He smiled brightly, in fakery. _

_She leaned forward as her fists clutched onto her knees. "But, what did you want to tell me…?" _

"…_No, it was nothing really." He sadly smiled to the sands beneath them. "Nothing at all…"_

"_But Atemu…" her eyes gentled in a desperate plea._

_Atemu only shook his head as he brushed away a lose strand of her hair. "I'll tell you…when we meet again." _

_She searched his eyes in more agonize. What if they didn't meet again?_

"_Are you prepared to return home?" Inyahlay asked with a patient tone as he took hold of Sabah's gold chain, who in turn jumped up onto the horse's back as well._

"_I …" Yahshi frowned not wanting to leave her Prince. "Will you promise we'll meet again some day, Atemu?"_

"_Promise." Atemu helped Yahshi off the ground and for a last time, they stared at one another. _

"_Do you really?" _

"_Of course I do. You're the only Princess that understands me, and I don't want to erase you out of my memory. And I don't want you to do that to me either, so…" Atemu's fingers lifted the silver lace of his cartouche pendant from his neck, and put it around her own neck for her to wear. _

_Yahshi lifted the pendant piece, seeing a name written on it reading in Egyptian, "Atemu"_

_She looked up to him with worried eyes. "Atemu, this…"_

"_My father gave it to me…so I want to give it to you as a gift, so you won't forget me. And when we meet again, I'll make you my Thema so you won't be unhappy in Cairo anymore." Atemu smiled happily at her, eyes lifted closed in great but playful joy. "I'll marry you, and you'll be my Thema of Egypt!"_

_Yahshi's lips parted in astonish and anxiety, blood rushing to her face. _

"_Then, I…I want to give you a gift…"_

"_Gift?" he questioned._

"_So you can…remember __**me**__ better." She blinked tightly, and suddenly leaned forward and quickly pressed her lips against Atemu's in a two second peck. "You'll be a beautiful Sa-Ra, Prince Atemu…"_

_Atemu just stood there dumbfounded as Yahshi's fingers slipped out of his palms. _

"…_Prince…?" The other guard whispered to Inyahlay. "That's son of Akunumkanon, what is she doing befriending our supposed enemy?"_

"_It doesn't matter; we'll only mention this to the Thema, nothing more to Yahshi…" Inyahlay picked up the princess and set her on his black stallion horse, Chenzira, while Sabah sat in the front. He kicked the horse's sides, and sped off into the night wildly with the other horsemen following along. _

_Atemu's eyes were as wide as saucers. His fingers reached up to his lips and felt the hot warmth against their tenderness. _

_**Luxor Temple**_

"_Atemu, my FOOLISH son, do you have any idea what you've done!?" The King preached as the young prince stood with his head down in shame. "Do you know how many years we've warred for peace with Cairo!?" _

_Atemu looked up at his father, eyes watery. "But father, I truly think this will bring peace once she becomes my Thema one day in time!"_

"_Argh!" The Pharaoh grunted, turning to the side. "There won't be a moment in time you ever see the daughter of Cairo again thanks to this! I could've used her for a declaration of peace, to ask for no more rivalry against us and no harm would've befallen her, but now the rulers of Cairo will think we kidnapped and threatened their daughter, forcing the War of Dominance to arrive earlier than wished! You know this!"_

"_All the more reason why we should be married for love when we get older, so Cairo won't be angry with us and to unite the two kingdoms!" _

"_LOVE?!" The King bellowed, eyes widened in fury. "You've only been in this world for eleven years, going on year twelve the uprising month, and you think you know something about love?!" _

"_But isn't that what it is when you find someone who really understands you, who emits a presence like no other, and then touch their lips sacredly with yours?!" Atemu cried out, upset. _

"_And what about the love for your people, Atemu?! The love for your kingdom?! You disrespected me and spat on our land, kicked dust upon the backs of your own people! My son, have you gone against everything I've taught you?! You breach the walls of Luxor and let Giza burn in flames for this one little girl!?!" _

"_I'd die for Princess Yahshi Shani of Cairo!" was the young boy's sudden out burst, a tear under one eye as he furrowed his eyebrows. "She means Egypt to me…and if Cairo wants to stop me then so be it…" he sniffled. _

"_So you'd die for her…" The King chuckled humorlessly at this, rubbing the back of his neck in exhaustion. "Tell me my worshipped son, have you ever watched another man dying or heard them dying?" _

"…_No…" Atemu mumbled._

"_Well when you do, tell me what's so poetic, so lyrical and glorious about breathing your last breath, being killed, or death itself, then we'll see how you feel about dying for love. I've seen an entire army of thousands being slaughtered across the grounds of this very kingdom, and their blood still wets the sands even now! You say you want to die for her, when you know nothing about dying, and you know nothing about love!" The King turned his back and made his way out onto the balcony of his kingdom. "Her soldiers are only a few million grains of sand out of Luxor, my brother will corner them in the Valley of the Kings and recapture her before word is sent out about her ride through here. We must regain peace." _

"…_But father!!!" Atemu took a step forward, eyes wide in disapproval and worry. _

"_I am sorry, Atemu…but I can not let you start a war for this child…" his father's voice suddenly went gentle in depression. "…We can not war for love in the future…" _

_----------------------------------------------------------------------_

The light disappeared, revealing Yami and Yahshi at the sunset in the same position they once left each other has children. She handed him the pendant and set it around his neck now…

"…This belongs to you, Sa-Ra…"

Yami's eyes widened as he looked at this stranger before him with new eyes. He then looked down to the necklace around his neck, the silver pendant that said his name in Egyptian text. "So, Atemu is my real name…?"

"Five millennia ago, you purposely erased your memories of the past, along with banishing your name from history that was never engraved within the stone tablet's cartouche pendant. Your past was secret to all and answer to all Egypt, not even I know the true meaning of you as the successor of the Kings. But you gave this pendant to me, and I've had it ever since…even when history had forgotten itself. History became legend, legend became myth, and soon all had been forgotten, Pharaoh." Yahshi caressed the pendant against her. "Yet, the moment Isolde and Yugi met, was the moment your name reappeared in this pendant of mine. I knew I had found you…" she smiled in whispers.

His strict look never left as he continued to stare at her. "…Our parents were against our bond, weren't they?"

Her eyes saddened with a softer look of smiles. "…They never wanted us to be together…"

"Tell me, how did we ever find each other again after such torment and threats from our people?"

"…Let's just say destiny brought us back together after a few years, and love found its way back to its holders."

"So it makes sense now…" He looked down at his Millennium Puzzle. "Because we were so conjoined at the heart, the Millennium items conjoined in power as well?"

"Partially..."

He raised his eyebrows. "Partially?"

"Millennium items are millennium items, but these two Millennium items have been inhabited by the heirs, two halves of one soul, to release a power that only these two can use together…the power of the Pharaoh…and his Queen. It's a sacred bloodline."

"…So I see…" Yami Atemu mumbled lazily with his amethyst eyes locked on her.

She looked up at him with the bashful lines of pink to her cheeks. She breathed in small awe; he was still beautiful, mostly when just standing there silently in front of the sunset. Yahshi closed her eyes and looked down with a smile to hide the shyness of her blush.

He noticed this. And instead of being confused, he felt flattered."We should…catch up, shouldn't we?"

She looked back down to his hand as she remembered this exact response when they were young, when they first met. Slowly her hand reached out to set in his palm, her eyes low and focused on it with a little blush smeared across her face. Finally her fingers felt in his palm.

"Now don't tell me you're still nervous around me," Yami chuckled.

She jerked her head up in a blush the color of the sunset just to see him smiling at her, eyes a harmonized amethyst, serene and kind face. She shook her head, still gazing at him in a feverish fluster. "A-Ah-uh…I'm intimidated."

"Oh?"

"Your powerful presence can be rather overwhelming for a smaller soul such as myself, Sa-Ra. I don't know if you realize your own natural spells, mysteriousness, strength and fearlessness, but it made you the most beautiful Pharaoh to walk Egypt's sands…"

"Well…in this present time for where I stand, Yahshi, in my head there's only you now." He leant in, hesitating for a kiss from her lips. He felt a tinge of awkwardness even saying such words to her.

"Flabbergast, you still need to find out more about your past!" Yahshi paused his lips with a smirk, brushing past him.

Yami just blinked almost stupidly, stuttering after her. "Wha? But I thought maybe YOU'D have the answers."

"Hey, I'M not your mind, Pha-roah." Her finger traced the air in a circle, the finger pointing to his face as if trying to pinpoint where to place it as Atemu's eyes followed it. He watched it as she placed it on his bottom lip, making him turn red.

"We're not children anymore, Pharaoh; my mind is almost blank itself." She turned away, dragging him with her. "Come on, we have a lot to catch up on like you said." She smiled merrily.

A sharp jolt surged through his body. _…But if that's how we met…then how did you die at the same age as me…? _


	6. Maibe, Born in the Night

_**Maibe, Born in the Night**_

Night had already fallen, bringing its creatures and crickets, its night breeze and fascinating night stars. The city was eventful at night. So many things to do at this hour, seven o'clock approximately.

Yami Yugi Pharaoh Atemu and Queen Yahshi Kamilah Shani, still in body form, were walking calmly down the pathway from the pier. It was a clear night sky above them and the darkened ocean tides.

The Pharaoh was occupied staring up at the sea of celestial stars in the dark indigo sky. It was wonderful to watch such white lights gleam like diamonds in the world above them. They always made him wonder, become inquisitive to know…

The handsome Pharaoh stared down on his present queen, wanting to say something, but closed his lips to hold it in.

She was striking, though not because of her looks.

Beauty is an illusionism and a mere shell, and it meant little to him.

She, however, was arresting because of her aura. She reminded him of himself, yet still having the light of Yugi inside her heart as a contrast. He often felt like he was striving to keep his heart pure of light in every move and word he produced. But it already seemed like her own purity was natural. When it all boiled down to it, she was his Omorose, his second little light to strengthen his own.

However…one only memory of her had been stuffed in the chambers of his mind, and it wasn't enough. He regretfully knew his love for her wasn't near powerful compared to five millennia. He regretfully knew it was an infatuation/fancying he almost urged to maintain. The fact that he didn't know her, made him feel a tad distant.

"So maybe it was just a crush…right? When we were younger?"

She looked up at him questioningly. "When we were young, it was probably just a crush…and then progressed into infatuation. It wasn't until our relationship progressed that we truly knew what love meant." Yahshi smiled and reached his height. "Buuut do you believe in love at first sight?"

Atemu softened his eyes, smiling warmly. "…I know I believe in it at second sight…."

His queen blinked at him, before snorting a strand of hair out of her face with the humored roll of her eyes. "O' Romeo, Romeo…"

She playfully shoved him away, making him give out a jokey, "Hey!"

"You're too smooth for your own good." Yahshi smirked, walking ahead of him.

Atemu gently chuckled and caught up to her, his hands behind his head. "You know, there is one more place we could go to before this night ends. It's your choice."

"Weeeell, how about the gracious Domino Park? I'd love to sit down and watch the stars with you." She closed her eyes, enjoying the zephyr.

The Pharaoh tried to look into her amber eyes, predicting something was bothering her. "Something wrong?"

She smirked in between her sightless travel. "Nothing's wrong."

He arched his eyebrows in concern. "Then why won't your eyes look upon me…?"

A sudden line clicked in mind. "Well, if I _do_ look at you…"

He blinked readily, wanting to know.

Finally she looked up at him, her eyes fluttering flirtatiously. "I'll fall all over again…and the heat in my cheeks would never leave me." she cackled in more playful notes as she watched his face turn into an expression of complete puzzlement; either that or it was just astonish as he blinked twice.

Slowly and easily rose pink flushed over his face before shaking it off, clearing his throat loudly. "Well…a tour around the nightfall park seems alright; I did hear that there would be a meteor shower tonight from Yugi."

She grabbed his hand, smiling as she turned to the pathway, looking back at him. "Then what are we waiting around here for?" she said between laughter. "Let's go! C'mon, Pharaoh!" she dragged him along with her strands swishing wildly, Atemu just following with a dumbfounded face.

_**Tea Gardner's Bedroom**_

Tea was active writing some things down in her pink diary. She gave out a noisy groan before finishing her silent words on paper.

_**Saturday 12/11/04 **_

_**On Friday, a new girl named Isolde Isis had been introduced to our school. Today, I overheard the girls whispering after school that this new girl was going out on dates with Yugi. **_

_**I'm so upset I can hardly write!! ARGH! **_

_**I don't know why but Yugi has seemed to take this huge liking to her already. It's so not like Yugi to pay attention to any girl as much as he has her, or maybe it's just her witch spell he's fallen under. I mean, Yugi wouldn't just develop feelings for anyone on the spot. I wish she would leave him alone, and just….be transferred from our school! I could just make her life horrible at school, and maybe she'll consider transferring! …Not a bad plan, either…!!!**_

Tea paused when she realized the hole she had ripped through her page pressed down by all the anger she was using to write in words. She gasped lightly at how her behavior had turned demonic. She exhaled and began writing more gently this time.

…_**But it is true that I know nothing about her. I can't take a personal dislike yet, I guess. Maybe I'm just…overprotective. Yeah, that's it. Over…protective is the word…**_

_**Besides, I don't feel like handling drama with that new girl…I'll come back later to write to you, Diary. **_

_**Tea Gardner **_**_♥_**

She stopped her writing and put her pen down as she looked up at the ceiling. _Why would I be jealous of this girl? So what if Yugi is suddenly crushing on someone and forgetting all about me? Why do I even care? _

Tea shook and laughed off the thought. She's simply friends with him, and that is all.

The teenaged girl looked at her clock.

**7: 35 PM **

She got up and reached for her coat. _Maybe a walk will clear my head._

_**Kinchella Park**_

There was a park bench nearby, but Yahshi asked her Pharaoh if it would be alright standing between the trees in the moonlight. Carelessly he considered, yet not before saying she was being too romantic for a woman, then her frowning at his behavior and sassily calling him a sexist. All he could do was blink dully and sigh with an odd smile. _She hasn't changed…still so childish…._

They both sat on the opening between the trees as the moon's shine gleamed over their skin. Atemu leaned up against a tree as Yahshi sat on the branch. They both watched for the meteor shower, which didn't begin yet. Even so, Omorose seemed to enjoy the leading lights for now.

Yahshi stared up at the handsome sky as the stars reflected in her sugary colored orbs. "Beautiful…aren't they?"

"Spectacular." Yami Atemu also looked into the galaxy's wonders.

She glanced down at him, and then down to her fingers. "You know, I remember when you and I used to watch the stars back in Egypt."

(A/N: Ending Credits Song for Troy Soundtrack (the movie) "Remember Me"—Millennia's Forgotten Love Theme Song by Josh Groben.)

_**Remem-ber…**_

_**I will still be here**_

_**As long as you hold me **_

_**in your memory…**_

Atemu's eyes came to her now as she held out her hand for him to climb up into the branch facing the grassy fields and twilight stars.

She went on as he leisurely made his way up onto the branch. "We'd take two horses from our staple, sit in a tree like this, away from the temples and city, and look up at the skies into the night. Sometimes we'd even sit atop the fifth step of the pyramid's peak in Giza where we could be away from everyone else…and it would just be us two, no one else in the world but us..."

_**Remem-ber…**_

_**When your dreams have end-ed**_

_**Time can be transcended**_

Atemu sat on the branch beside Yahshi as she felt the air sooth her body. "…They were like over a billion lighthouses in a dark sky of abyss. It was so magical. We would always snuggle under the stars back then." Her eyes shined in grim now. "It was beautiful, but unfair. It was so cruel that the darkness above us was given beautiful light, but the darkness created down here five millennia ago was given none at all. Light did not exist in Egypt after those Millennium items were created, no, not like the black sky. It wasn't fair, how they were so divine and perfect, when everything down here was so ugly after what happened..."

The Pharaoh had been staring at her the whole while through. He couldn't believe that her once youthful honeyed colored eyes were now clouded with emptiness and sorrow.

The handsome yami tried to feel her experience and take in what she was feeling, but he didn't have enough memory to even imagine the tragedy that struck Egypt and her poor heart. "…Yahshi," was all he could murmur in his deep, husky voice box.

_**Just remember me…**_

She shook her head, hair swaying in the opposite direction of every shake as she turned to him. "No, don't say my name like that. I know all too well what it means. I'm fine because it's not like that anymore; I have you again." She nestled her face into his chest after she closed her eyes, speaking muffled into his shirt with wind having a time with her bronze mane. "They don't want to kill you anymore, so it's over. We're together again…we all are, and that's all that matters."

Yami Atemu watched the breeze tangle strands of her curls in airborne. He softened his eyes when he realized just how beautiful they looked in the bluish moonlight together. Her flesh felt like silk when his hand wrapped across her back, his eyes forever concealed over her form in powerful protection.

_**I am the one star**_

_**That keeps burning**_

_**So brightly**_

He quickly directed his eyes to the flickering sky. Many meteors exploded across the cobalt heavens like falling sapphire, ruby, amethyst, and diamond fireworks. He put that arm further around Yahshi, and tugged her shirt. "Yahshi, it's started..."

Her eyes came into view of the skidding lights ablaze. As she watched with a silent awe and then cuddled up to him for warmth, the Pharaoh only smirked at her.

Atemu stroked the side of her head delicately. He watched her eyelids get heavier until they shut with a bluish rime light sparkling on her black eyelashes. Slowly, Atemu put his navy blue jacket around her.

_**It is the last light**_

_**To fade into the ris-ing sun**_

His own eyes slanted as a deep glow of seriousness fell upon his orbs. He vowed to himself he would never let anything bad happen to her, for he'd guard her with his very life and never lose her ever _again_.

The meteor shower ended, and it was time to get up from the tree branch. Atemu's lips warmed Yahshi's forehead, just about enough to wake her out of her dreams.

_**And with you, **_

_**Whenever you tell**_

_**my stor-y**_

_**For all**_

_**I have done**_

Yahshi did wake, but closed her eyes again and hummed in warmth. "Do we have to go already, Pharaoh…?"

"We can't stay here all night…" Atemu's warm exhalation breathed against her forehead in mild whispers.

_**Remember**_

_**I will still be here**_

_**As long as you hold me **_

_**In your memory**_

_**Remember me**_

She fluttered her eyes open somewhat, smiling wider at him. "I'll get up…if _you_ kiss me this time."

He blinked widely; unsure. "Why me?"

"Because you haven't kissed me in over five thousand years. I kissed you first, now it's your turn. I want to see if you still know how to trance me…"

"…Trance you?"

_**I**_

_**Am that one voice**_

_**In the cold wind**_

_**That whispers **_

She snuggled up against him. "Every time you'd close in with every kiss, I could feel your breath against my lips that gave me a tingly feeling inside, that made me feel like you were superior in a shielding way. I remember my heart would race and think over and over again how the great Pharaoh of Egypt, the miraculous and wonderful King I fell so deeply in love with, the one with the amethyst eyes that reminded me of jewels, was going to plant his lips on mine…and the warmth would come to me like a dazing trance that I always dreamt of, had come to reality. Every time you pressed your tender lips against mine…felt like it was our very first kiss."

_**And if you lis-ten **_

_**You'll hear me call**_

_**Across the sky**_

Atemu's lips were vaguely parted as he stared into her eyes sheepishly. He never knew he could ever create such a feeling over females. Did he really have that effect?

"So," Yahshi smiled. "…do you Sa-Ra Atemu, wish to kiss your lovesick Thema, Yahshi?"

He soon smiled sincerely, eyes soft in a profound hum escaping him. "Very well, my Omorose…" his lips parted more as he closed his eyes and moved into her, taking her lips in his ever so affectionately.

_**As long as**_

_**I can still reach out **_

_**And touch you**_

_**Then I…**_

_**will never die**_

The irresistible heated pinkness of lines marked her face frivolously. To be kissed by a Pharaoh was above all treasures. Just because of the way her Atemu made her feel, off and on she could forget she's his queen, his wife.

Yahshi elegantly rested her eyelashes on her cheeks as the night filled the moment.

_**Remember, I'll never leave you**_

_**If you will only remember me…**_

When they released for just a few split seconds, lips brushing as they breathed, Yahshi whispered to him, "…I love you, Sa-Ra Atemu, King of my heart…" the look in her eyes said it all.

Yami Atemu just smiled as the side of his nose brushed hers. There. He finally felt it. Or rather a portion of it. "…As I love you, my Omorose Thema…that I'll love forever…just like five Millennia ago." his lips brushed hers. The sensation to say those words was magnificent and no longer awkward.

_**Remember,**_

_**I will still be here **_

_**As long as you hold me in your memory**_

_**Remember, when your dreams have ended**_

_**I can be transcended**_

_**I will forever**_

The light from the Millennium items glowed intensely. Soon it surrounded them both, and replaced them with the true owners of both bodies. Through the imprisoning light, Atemu's voice whispered, _"…I won't ever forget you again, if you just remember me…"_

_**Remember me…**_

_**Remember me…**_

_**Remember me…**_

_**(End of Song)**_

Yugi and Isolde gazed widely into each other's eyes as their lips were near, her head against the tree bark with their noses touching. They both yelped and blushed brightly, Yugi bounding back and falling over the edge of the tree branch.

_**Outside Park**_

"Great isn't it?" Isolde blurted to him as they walked out to the exit, passing a fountain on the way.

"What is?"

She walked along the thin path of the fountain's ledge. "The fact that Queen Yahshi and Pharaoh Yami Atemu are together again." She stated as she held out her arms for balance so she wouldn't fall into the water.

"Oh, yeah it's wonderful…" Yugi said in anxiousness as he paid more attention to her falling than the conversation.

Isolde looked down, smiling to herself in strange thought as she continued to walk on the stone of the fountain as if walking a rope. "…Do you ever wonder what it's like to find just that special someone that could love you forever?" her hands gripped Yugi's navy blue jacket worn around her shoulders.

He rubbed the back of his head and looked down. "W-Well, I…sometimes I guess…"

She paused as she looked up into the night sky in mesmerizing marvel. "I wish I could imagine what it would be like, to have someone actually love you. My mom always told me love is the most precious thing you can hold on to, also friendship." She looked back down to Yugi. "Do you think it's true, Yugi?"

Yugi's shyness, blushing, and nervousness finally disappeared as he continued walking, Isolde jumping down from the fountain's ridge. "Well, I know that friendship and love is very powerful. I mean, you can love ANYONE. But to be _in love_…that's different. Though, the type of love for when you actually have that wonderful feeling inside for someone, I don't know how strong that can truly get. I've…never been in love…_**before**_."

Isolde tilted her head to the side, thin hair sliding off her shoulder. "_'Before,' _Yugi?" she smiled.

At first Yugi didn't quite catch it, until a fact hit him good. "I-I mean! Well I, not _before_, I mean I don't love anyone right now and….and…I…" he took a deep breath. "You know it is getting late and maybe we should be heading home now!" He turned and faced her. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Isolde shook her head. "No thanks. I think I can manage."

They both began walking again, reaching the exit.

Yugi gave her a puzzled look. "You sure? It is night time and anything could happen unexpectedly around here..."

She giggled a bit, before staring into his eyes, assuring through eye contact she would be fine on her own. "I promise I'll be alright on my own, I always am. But," she retrieved the stuffed Kuriboh from his hands and looked up into his eyes caringly. "Thanks for being concerned…" She gave him his jacket and thanked him for letting her wear it, spun on her heel and turned away from him, raising her hand to wave farewell.

Another urge in Yugi told him to stop her.

His hand grabbed onto hers. "W-Wait!"

"…What...is it?" she wrinkled her brow.

Yugi's heart raced urgently. He looked down and back up. He closed his eyes tightly and gave her a very quick kiss on her cheek. Isolde stood shocked for a moment.

He let go of her hand with his eyes still closed tightly as he bowed. "G-GOODNIGHT!" He turned to exit the embarrassment of what she might say and power-walked down the sidewalk. It was almost puppy love…

Isolde watched him go in a few blinks. She touched her cheek and murmured his name, her own face getting red.

_**Sidewalk**_

By this time, Tea was just freely walking down a sidewalk, staring at her feet. She thought about Yugi again. _It is nice Yugi has found someone and all, but won't that change everything? _

"Tea! Hey!" it was a familiar voice she was fond of hearing.

Tea looked up, surprised to see her Yugi there. "Hey Yugi, what are you doing around here at this hour?"

"Well I should be asking you the same question. But since you asked first, I was hanging out with Isolde." His eyes looked down at the thought of her name.

"Oh," Tea frowned. "Yeah, that's right…"

"What?" he looked up at her rather suddenly.

"I-I said, oh yeah that's nice…"

Yugi just smiled, dismissing whatever was afloat in his mind before. "We had a great time, well, I know I did." his cheeks seemed to get pink brightly while roaming his eyes elsewhere, and she knew it well enough.

Tea couldn't help but smirk sadly at this. "You really like her, don't you?"

"No! N-No, no!" Yugi instantly answered. "We're just friends. It was just a friends-outing!" he shouted while trying to rub the red from one cheek.

"Friends-outing?" Tea raised an eyebrow. "Mmhm, yeah right. I'm not stupid you know. I know what's going on. You like Isolde and a lot at THAT."

"Do not!" Yugi pouted, looking away to throw off interest in the subject. "Anyway, I really have to get home. Grandpa will be worried. I-I'll see you later, Tea!" with that Yugi hurried down the block to the Game shop.

Tea didn't respond, as he left much too quickly, not even bothered by it…

_**A Block from Home**_

Isolde was soon to be at her abandoned household. Her father was probably out at the bar or somewhere drunken, perhaps even modeling silver hand cuffs around his wrists again. She truly didn't like to be unaccompanied__but she had no choice after passing up Yugi's offer.

"Yugi..." she smiled regretfully to herself. "He's so caring when it comes to me. Too bad I didn't take his invitation."

"_**Yes, and I suppose a brief feeling of this is enough to faze you as always. Don't get yourself too carried away, sweet **_Isolde_** or your heart will end up in pieces just like last time." **_The deepness of a haunting voice stalked the streets behind her way.

Isolde spun around and saw nothing but the darkness of the path and tall houses. She blinked three times. "Maybe I'm hearing things again."

All of this was too strange for her. The night, seemed…silent. Not a cricket chirped, not a bark heard, not a sound of anything at all, just a cruel wind that blew for a split second. After that, it was dead silent again.

Isolde clutched her Kuriboh as she was beginning to feel the sensation of chilly fear run up her spinal cord. She became to walk much, much faster to where she was on the quivering verge of sprinting. The same nerve-racking voice was heard:

"_**What's wrong, child? Frightened of me as customary? You should not fear your master…"**_

Isolde was now convinced that these voices weren't coming from her head. It was existent, and unpleasant. "Who and where are you?" she looked around in trembling words. "If you want my wallet, then fine!" She grasped her wallet from her pocket and threw it to the concrete floor.

"_**Why, my dear, I want what you possess. Now that you have found the Sa-Ra for me, it's time to strip you BOT of your treasures." **_The night grew icy as that voice boomed once more.

"What I possess…?" she walked backwards, blinded by darkness. Suddenly a figure rose up from a sitting position and stood in the dark scenery from its camouflage, stepping on the wallet mercilessly.

Isolde looked closely with her eyes quaking in her sockets. "…No, not you again…you can't be real…" she whispered croakily.

The person was clothed in a hooded black cloak so the only thing visible would be one iris burning in murderess crimson.

"_**You carry something I lack." **_The pupil turned into a catlike eclipse shape. _**"Bestow it to me if you honor life…"**_

Isolde backed away even more. "I-I don't know what you mean…I'm sorry, but I can't help you!" She spun around and dashed away, just to be blocked by the same presence. She gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth.

"_**I want that Millennium item, child!"**_

"…My…Millennium Bangle…?" Isolde shook her head, cowering and protecting her bracelet in bravery. "I'm not giving it to anyone!" she tripped over her feet, unfortunately.

A horrible chuckle deepened the air as if sounding like a cat's growl in ways impossible. The unknown just smiled in a cunning beam. _**"I'm sorry, but…you just don't have a choice!" **_She raised a sharp-nailed hand and triggered some type of energy to ray forward directly at Isolde.

Yahshi saw her chance to take over, but her power faltered once she realized her ability to switch bodies was blocked by a dark barrier. _"Oh no…_ _Isolde!" _

Isolde was hit by this electrical shaft of light of black darkness, and skid to the ground when she struggled to block herself.

"_**You **__will__** give me the Queen's most precious item!'**_" The figure suddenly grasped Isolde's arm, boring her wretched nails severely into her flesh.

A painful yelp of hurt rose from Isolde's throat. Fresh tears streamed down her face, but she wore an angered mask anyway. "Why are you doing this? Haven't I already contributed enough to you?!"

"_**Birth was all you contributed to me after the proceeding nine years!" **_She jerked her wrist upwards to show her the glowing Millennium Bangle. _**I cannot take the bracelet off your wrist, for only the founder can do such a thing. I prefer you take the bracelet off for me, or else your soul will be sent to the shadows."**_

"You mean…the Shadow Realms…" Isolde's eyes dilated. She jerked, pulled and kicked to escape, hollering, "NO!" over and over again as if someone was murdering her.

The veiled unknown grabbed both her wrists and held her in place as tears welled in Isolde's shut eyes. "SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME! ANYONE! I CAN'T GO BACK THERE! I CAN'T GO BACK THERE!" _Not when I had just found happiness…_the thick hand covered other her mouth, making screams muffled and swallowed back down into a choke.

"_**No one can hear you, child..."**_ her voice whispered in a serpent hiss.

Tears strolled down her cheeks as she shut her eyes tighter. Isolde's desperate cry was muffled as she cried, **"YUGI!!!!!" **

The stuffed Kuriboh fell and splashed into the murky water of the solid pavement as all life stopped…

**Game shop (Yugi's bedroom)**

"**NO!!"** Yugi sat up abruptly in his bed, sweat clung to his forehead. His entire body was drenched in sweat, even his bed was soaked in a damp blotch around him. He panted for a moment in sudden shock. After he calmed down, he moved his hand over his chest, feeling confused, uneasy, and terrified of what he just witnessed.

"_Yugi?"_ the Pharaoh's spirit sat on the end of the bed. _"Is something wrong?" _

Yugi slowly looked up as he tried to catch his breath. "Something…bad… just happened. I felt it…"

Yami Atemu furrowed his eyebrows. _"You sure it wasn't just a bad dream of some sort?" _

"No, it was no dream…" Yugi replied with a horrified voice. "I felt it…like a sharp pain right here in my chest." It would seem random and dark, but just a horrible thought crossed his mind as his eyes dilated widely. "…Izzy…"

"_Isolde?"_ the Pharaoh's eyes widened.

"Something's happened to her!" Yugi jumped out of bed before his Yami could calm him down.

"_Yugi, hold on!!" _

At that moment the Millennium Puzzle gave off a bright signaling light that brought Yugi and Atemu's attention.

"Pharaoh we have to—hey Pharaoh, are you okay?" Yugi had noticed Atemu seemed spaced out in agony. "What is it?"

His yami closed in his eyes in tiredness and a wincing face as the symbol of the eye of Ra flashed on and off against his forehead. "…I felt it too…" he lost balance and used the chair next to the desk for support.

Yugi became alert. "The—"

"The jolt jerking my memory, and something in my chest..." He held his forehead in his hand with his amethyst eyes in a distant loss and harsh heart break. "My connection with Yahshi has been erased completely…" he shut his eyes tightly.

Yugi held his ground in anger. "What on earth is going on here?! Yami, we have to find them _NOW!_"

"That is pointless…" Atemu confirmed in some pain. "We don't know where they are! You have not a clue where Isolde even lives."

"Maybe the Millennium Puzzle can guide us. Both Millennium items are still connected." Yugi pointed to the glowing object pointing in a certain direction like a guider's arrow.

"Then we must hurry before it _is_ too late." Yami Atemu's spirit disappeared while Yugi quickly dressed out of his light blue pajamas and headed out of the Game shop.

_**Empty Street (Five minutes later)**_

Isolde's body rested spiraled out on the concrete cement with her orbs a dilated and blank turquoise of nothingness. She lay there lifeless, motionless, and soulless.

The wicked soul snatcher stood over the girl looking as if to be the grim reaper without its spear. _**"Poor child, I have no pity for her." **_The inhuman thing lifted a pointy-nailed hand from its sleeve and stared into its palm. _**"…With the imprisoned queen in my hold, the Pharaoh will have to come to me, driven by rage and anger. Then I can obtain both Millennium items…so I can have my life back once more…incarnated as one's self-created yami…how pathetic of me."**_

The character was about to grab the Millennium bracelet unclamped and fallen beside the dead girl, until it felt the presence of a deep darkness and thundering hate. A red eye stared into the soul of the young boy, Yugi, and the Pharaoh inside the inner spirit of him.

Yugi gasped at his founding with wide and hurt eyes, before roaring, "Who are you…and what have you done with Yahshi and Isolde?!"

"…_**And so the myth never fails to give rebirth into a legend…" **_The red eye narrowed demonically.

Yugi furrowed his quivering eyebrows profoundly, before finding the lifeless body of Isolde behind this demonic-like soul. "…I…Izzy …?"

The figure narrowed its hateful eyes in focus. _**"This is your love isn't it? Is that why your heart aches so, little Yugi?"**_

Yugi gazed at the hooded and shadowed person in shock of how he/she knew his name. He clenched his teeth as fists trembled. "What have you DONE TO HER?!" tears set in the corner of his disturbed eyes as hate seemed to overpower the usually gentle little Yugi. "Answer me, you snake!"

"_**Don't have such a tantrum, little child. The girl is in perfect condition, just not her soul."**_

"You…you put her in the Shadow Realms, didn't you?!" Yugi rampaged. "YOU BANISHED HER FROM THIS WORLD!"

"_**Now you seem to be catching on, little one."**_

Yugi closed his eyes tight as if wincing. "Izzy…I promised myself, I'd help you…" a deep growl rasped from his throat. "I gave her my word…" The Millennium Puzzle began to glow with an ancient tone to its activation. "ARGGHH!" he clenched the air as the light overpowered him completely, agonizing him as he cried out in twinge, **"YU-GI-OH!!!!!"**

The beaming light faded with Yugi's voice becoming deeper. Finally he was revealed as his alter ego. The eye of Ra was seen through the midst of the dark.

"Whoever you are," the Pharaoh scowled as his eyes shot open. "You will suffer a brutal defeat!"

"_**In a duel I suppose?" **_an indecent smile was visible on the person's face. "_**I hate to disappoint you, but no, I do not accept your invitations. I do things my way, and my way only." **_

"Then so be it, but not without one thing answered." Yami Atemu's eyes narrowed. **"Who **_**are **_**you?"**

The presence lifted their face; just to let his/her red eye glow vividly with a smirk and long black bangs falling before their forehead to be shown as visible. _**"…Master used to call me Maibe, but my newest creator calls me a sin from darkness." **_

"Maibe?" Atemu repeated in little remembrance.

"_**It means born in the night, or to be more fitting, born in the darkness, born in hell…exactly when and where I was given rebirth."**_

"Then tell me what it is you want from me and my friends!"

"_**Oh, isn't it obvious?" **_she licked her lips hungrily. _**"I want what everyone else wants, your soul, and your Puzzle." **_

Yami Atemu narrowed his eyes. "That is something that you will never get your thieving hands on."

"_**But don't you want to see…your precious queen again?"**_

The Pharaoh's eyes glistened with a haunting worry and hate. His teeth clenched as the worry rose. "What have you done with Yahshi…?" he threatened.

"_**She's been departed from **_Isolde_**, and is my most recent prisoner…" **_The demonic woman held out her hand, and in her palm was a caged sphere with a smaller version of Yahshi trapped inside fearfully.

"YAHSHI!" Yami Atemu shouted across the darkness. He held back with his eyes twitching in annoyance. "You menace…how dare you take my queen from me!"

With the raise of two fingers rubbed against each other to create a black electric spark, the Pharaoh was brought down to his knees viciously. His eyes dilated as he clutched his chest painfully.

"_**Don't you worry, Sa-Ra **_("Pharaoh, or rather Son of Ra") _**Atemu, Thema **_("Queen")_** is just fine here with me. And you'll be joining her ever so shortly in the deepest depths of the Shadows." **_Maibe raised her hands to the gloomy clouds. _**"I promise to put you out of your misery, Sa-Ra, just like the low-ranked dog you are."**_

A black electric charge emerged from the clouds and rocketed down into Maibe's palm. She targeted the electricity towards the Pharaoh who could not move. The wave circled him and then created a black fire around his boundaries.

His eyes were shut tightly as sweat clung to his face, the heat blinding him. The fire changed to blue flames, the hottest flames detectable. His skin could've burned right off his bones in a minute's notice.

In the hands of death, all that can ever be summed up from the mind is the worry of dying, or when death is bound to happen at any second. Though, the Pharaoh was not thinking of death or even himself at the moment. All he could think about was what would happen to Yahshi. He was going to be the cause of someone else's death too, all because he failed to save them.

Atemu bent over as sweat dripped from his heated skin. "…It was my oath, my swear to protect my queen…" he hoarsely whispered under thick heat waves.

"_**And so it was. Such a waste of breath too. Don't worry, Sa-Ra. You'll be seeing her again, very soon." **_ Maibe's blue flames grew taller, and looped around the Pharaoh. They danced and closed in on him rapidly and ferociously. _**"I'll send you to be fed to the hungry shadows my Sa-Ra! Or maybe I shall just capture your soul and give you to **__them__**."**_

He hollered as a flame wavered against his skin, burning him flippantly. Automatically, he bowed his head in frustration. "No…" he spoke in trembling forces. **"…I WILL NOT SURRENDER TO YOU!!!!"**

He broke the penetrating and invisible binds and stood tall in a roar. He bowed his head down and stared into the eyes of his enemy, the eye of Ra glowing vastly on his forehead. He bit his lip before unwilling hollering as power inside the Millennium Puzzle overthrew the darkness in a free and massive out burst.

The light stripped away the blue flames turning into black ash, and with its light beamed into Maibe's sight and blew and tangled her into a picket fence.

Yami Atemu stood strong with eyes red with hatred**. "Maibe…"** he growled in rage. **"…Give me back my friends, NOW, or else I'll rip **_**you**_** apart."**

The eye of Ra shined brighter to contribute to his seriousness.

Maibe struggled her way free from the gate, as she pulled her torn flesh from the barred wiry edges, bleeding incessantly. The face was still hidden under the hood. She looked at her fingers covered in red fluids. _**"…Well done my Sa-Ra, this is just what **__they__** wanted…perfect, absolutely perfect."**_

"**MAIBE."** Atemu thundered.

She yanked her shadowed face up, long draping hood flinging in the air in urgent attention.

The Pharaoh held out his hand. **"My friends."**

The demonic girl folded her fingers into her palm and looked down. _**"…Of course, but only because of your great performance. Think of this as an early birthday gift…even though the date you were born was everyone's demise."**_ She flung her sleeve, and then the other, as if motioning magic.

Suddenly Yahshi's transparent body appeared floating over Maibe's hands. The sleeping spirit body floated over towards the Pharaoh. He took the spirit into his arms hesitantly and stared into her closed her eyes. "Yahshi…?"

"_**Go home Sa-Ra, cherish your friends, worship your stranger-wife, and another day we'll have our shadow ordeal. For right now…it's too early for banishing Kings and Queens to be fed to the shadows' hunger. None of it means I don't still plan to crush you and your loved ones. But this was impressive for the day so I can go on with another way to destroy you inside and out…now that I know your main weakness." **_Maibe laughed to herself in her slumped position as the black flames transported her out of sight.

Atemu tossed his head to control his anger. "That witch…she's going to regret ever touching my friends."

"_It…won't matter even so. She can not be defeated, Sa-Ra."_

"What?" Atemu looked into his arms, into the amber eyes of Yahshi. A happy smile lit upon his face. He leaned close to her, brief disbelief. "I thought I was going to lose you again, Yahshi," He spoke in melodic notes of deep tenderness.

Yahshi lightly smiled back, Atemu's expression faded as he watched her disappear and the Millennium Puzzle's light grow. Immediately he was switched back with a weak Yugi.

Yugi fell to his knees and looked up wearily as he saw Isolde's body still lying lifeless. "Izzy?!" Yugi's voice screeched. He crawled over to the unconscious girl. He held her in his arms to shake her. "It's over, everything's fine now! So open your eyes and w-wake UP!" he was hoping that Maibe had also released her soul, but there was no telling if she had or not.

The sky roared with thunder as the rain suddenly began to pour down in hard pats against Yugi and Isolde's soaked bodies. Yugi held back his whimpers of pain before picking her up, and running towards home with tears welled in the corner of his eyes and in furious clenched teeth.


	7. The King of Sorrow

_**The King of Sorrow**_

Yugi kicked the bedroom door open viciously and stumbled to his bed. He tucked her damp body beneath a bundle of blankets.

**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW**

I struggled to catch my breath, feeling like I was suffocating dreadfully. It was at least 11 o'clock, and Grandpa didn't hear me barge in urgently.

I looked upon Isolde from the side of the bed. Her body was wet and I could only guess if she was freezing, that is, if she's out of the shadow realms…

(A/N: Song, "My Life and My Love" by Al Jarreau and Bobbi Page)

_**What can I do?**_

_**What have I done?**_

My tears filled up in my eyes again as I clutched the covers. "Liar!" I remarked angrily. "She lied! She lied…she lied!"

_**What is there left for me now you are gone**_

I wasn't doing much good letting my sorrow grow, but I just couldn't contain it. I bowed my head in shame as angry tears rolled down my cheeks.

The Pharaoh and Queen stood beside me in sorrow and horror. Yami stepped forward. "Yugi, is she…"

"…She's not coming back…."

Yahshi jerked her head up with watery amber eyes.

"No, not anymore…" My fists shook as they clutched the cover tighter.

_**Why did you have to go**_

_**Why only now I know **_

_**There will be no other one….**_

"THIS ISN'T FAIR!" I screamed to the ceiling as I held my head in insanity. "She CAN'T be gone…" I was blinded with so much hatred, sorrow and pain that it all overwhelmed me. I pounded the wall next my bed, once or twice in complete fury.

_**All that I could ever hope for**_

_**All that I could ever long for**_

I slid down the wall and pathetically plumped down onto the floor, eyes distant blurriness in covered hot tears. I stared at Isolde from the bed, my stifling breaths heightening.

This is what always becomes of my friends…this was my life, just the way it goes; to put the ones I care in danger.

_**So much to say to you**_

_**So much to share with you**_

_**My life and my love**_

It seemed I couldn't get myself together at all…I just couldn't. This is the very first time, I've lost a friend and never been able to save them from the shadows…

_**Oh, how can I bear **_

_**What lies ahead?**_

_**Leaving without you **_

_**There's so much unsaid**_

I clutched the covers on the bed next to where she lay lifeless once again, pulling them as I begged to her to wake. My eyes just stared at her in horror. I cared for her too much to let this happen…I just couldn't allow this! But there was nothing I could do….nothing at all. "Izzy…" my orbs trembled. "…There's just no way on earth you've left us so suddenly." _Why am I losing her in the first place?! What have I done to lose her!? "_…Just tell me what I did wrong to deserve this…to allow you to g-go…"

_**And to remember our journey together**_

_**Why is this where it has led**_

"…_Because you came too late, Yugi."_ I turned to Yahshi with a tear-stained face. She was looking down in a welling pain. _"Nine years too late…"_

_**The world**_

_**We knew**_

_**Won't come back**_

_**Time**_

_**We've lost**_

_**Won't gain back**_

I gasped silently and turned to Isolde. Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted. I crawled to the bed side closer and buried my face into my arms as I continued to mourn over a death…my Isolde.

_**This world will never be…**_

_**What I expected…**_

_**(End of Song)**_

**END OF POINT OF VIEW**

While Yugi still kept his face buried in his arms, a small yellow light began to glow beside Isolde. The light came from a card next to her. Yugi didn't seem to notice the crystalline energy stream traveling the room.

Finally he opened his shut eyes and took his face away from his arms, feeling a light bathe over him. He stared at the glowing card in front of his visions. "What's this?" He cautiously reached out to take the card from the bedside. "Nephthys Goddess of Femi?!"

'_**Use what you desire greatly to save the unloved from the dark.'**_

Yugi creased his eyebrows in shock and confusion as the voice echoed around the room.

'_**Words to break the curse of darkness's devoid. Words never meaningless to bring the unloved from the void. Words to save the one born as a lifeless android.' **_

The boy looked at the glowing card he held. "I don't understand…"

'_**Words you desire to break the curse. Words never meaningless…for a past reversed.'**_

**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW**

What the card rhymed and riddled made little sense to me…

'_**You desire from the unloved. Something such as feelings ungloved. Say the three words to your love, or suffer the loss of all losses above." **_

I gasped for a moment, finally understanding. I nodded shakily with brief determination, and slowly put the card down. I stared at Isolde with my soft and fearful eyes. So much pressure…

"…Izzy…" I whispered as I leaned over her lifeless face. "…I…" I gazed at her sweet face, nevertheless beautiful even when lifeless. Her eyelashes rested on her rosy cheeks with her soft parted lips, hair spiraled out everywhere on the bedspread. I twiddled my fingers nervously, a feverish blush overcoming my cheeks. "…I…" my lips opened fully. "Isolde…" It was hard to manage, but I had to…to save her from the shadows. I bent into her eardrum, whispering those words…

Suddenly an out burst of energy shined from both our Millennium items, and the card. Three sources of light drew the entire scene into one…

**Five Minutes later**

I blinked a few times, my vision ever so blurry. My head was in a lot of pain, but I remembered things right away when I saw the duel monster card in my hands. I stared down at it, noticing it wasn't glowing anymore.

"It must've worked…" I whispered uneasily. I looked over Isolde's form, nervous yet anxious to know, "Did it really work?"

All my hopes, my heart, my spirit shattered right then and there when I saw her motionless form on the bed, never moving, eyes forever sealed. My orbs trembled within my sockets…I tried to hold back the ache running through my body…

**END OF POINT OF VIEW**

Two crystal tears hit the covers of the bed gently, sniffles of pain heard. Yugi shut his eyes tightly as the tears clung damply to his eyelashes, teeth clenched, bed spread clutched. "No…" he choked out as if too pained to talk. "NO!" he pounded the bedside once. "…I've lost her forever…to the shadows…I lost her…" he dug the side of his face into the covers, forcing himself to restrain such tears. "…Isolde …"

A pair of turquoise eyes opened, the pupils and light coming back against the orbs. Her head was resting peacefully on the pillow; her lengthy blonde strands of hair scattered wildly on the bed like sleeping beauty from the Tristan and Isolde tales. She blinked again to fully open her eyes and took her first breath of air. The first thing that came to sight was the young boy leaning on the side of the bed. She lifted her head from the pillow.

"…The shadows took her away…and it's all my stupid fault…" Yugi cried out.

"No, it's not the first time that witch devoured my soul before…"

Yugi gasped, a tear falling, and yanked his head up immediately. His heart stopped in shock as he stared into the gentle happiness of the one he longed to come back to him.

"…Izzy…" Yugi started. "…You're…" he smiled in quivering lips.

She nodded in relief too, looking almost saddened and happy at once. "Mmhm…"

Yugi's eyes softened. "Izzy…" He immediately pulled the girl into a tight hug. "YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"

She blushed in surprise with wide eyes as he hugged her close to him. Her heart thumped.

"Isolde …" he whispered. "I thought you were gonna be a goner…"

She blushed more when his arms held around her waist too. Finally she eased her nervousness and felt him hold her shoulders in place. "Yugi…you had come back for me, didn't you?" she softly whispered. "You saved me…from my worst nightmares …" tears spilt.

"Well, now you know you'll always have me to be there for you." Yugi perked up. "No matter what the risk…I stay by my friends' side at all times…" Yugi leaned in closer to her, just saying words like a secret whisper in the dark.

Isolde lowered her eyes almost feverishly and smiling wearily. She bowed her head and felt a pain within her. A small held in yelp was heard in her throat.

"What's wrong?!" Yugi asked her in deep concern.

She opened her eyes slightly, shaking her head. "I'm not sure…"

He then discovered four distant lines across her wrist and up her arm. "…Did Maibe do this…?"

Isolde nodded. "…When she tried to pry the Millennium Bracelet from my arm I suppose. It's either from that…or…or from what happened in the shadow realm…" a chill jolted her this time. She tossed her head to get such horrifying images from her mind. Sweat clung to her face. "…I don't feel so well, Yugi…"

"Here!" He quickly rested her back against his small bed. "Just lay here…you need your rest from all that's happened today."

"Thank you…" she weakly nodded with her eyes still locked with his. "Yugi…?"

Yugi's own eyes softened. "…Yeah?"

"Thanks again…" She smiled feebly, ready to fall asleep any time now. She sighed as he placed a rag on her forehead when he felt her head become warm…

He leaned on the side of the bed and rested his chin on the covers, watching her drift off into sleeping mode. Her eyes closed gentled as she lay there back into a sleeping beauty position. She was just like the Princess Isolde herself, awaiting her prince to one day kiss her frozen lips to bring her back to life from the depths of eternal rest. Even so, Isolde was awake, but her world was forever half asleep.

He stared at her in great relief. _Now she looks even more peaceful now that her soul is back…_

"I promise not to let anything bad happen to you…" he vowed with his soul in great seriousness. "I promise…" his fingers seemed to clutch the sheets.

From a small distance from the bed, Yami Atemu and Yahshi had been observing everything. Though one of them was too distracted by something else, to fully take note of what went on around them.

The Pharaoh was busy minded. All his attention was drawn to the sight of Yahshi, not in a loving way, but in a fearful way. He stared at her in a painful mourning in his amethyst eyes, with that troubled _**something**_ that just punctured holes into his spirit. It was stabbing his heart several times just to be reminded of those two events, present and past. Those two events in which one killed his Yahshi, but then the second that nearly killed her for the second time.

**ATEMU'S POINT OF VIEW**

(A/N: Song, "King of Sorrow" by Sade)

_**I'm crying everyone's tears**_

_**And there inside our private war**_

I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was haunting me like a nightmare and slitting my heart to pieces like a shredder. To anyone that saw or knew what Maibe had done to Yahshi, would consider it "not too big of a deal". But they wouldn't understand…even if it wasn't a big deal, it was something that could have taken her away from me…that forever hurts me eternally. I can't remember the first time she died, but just to think about it makes me feel grateful for my absent memories.

_**I died the night before**_

_**And all of these remnants of joy and disaster**_

_**What am I suppose to do**_

Yahshi didn't notice that I had been staring at her in such intensity. _"Wonderful to see them together again, isn't it? They truly remind me of us…a living us. It's strange; it's like a reincarnation of our love." _She smiled at me with her eyes lifted closed.

I didn't answer her. I was too distracted in my thoughts, for I didn't want to answer her.

Her smile faded slowly, noticing that something was bugging my mind. _"Sa-Ra?"_ she turned her body to look at me. _"What's the matter? Are you alright?"_

_**I want to cook you a soup that warms your soul**_

_**But nothing would change, nothing would change at all**_

The amethyst light against my eyes shown in ghostly wavers as I deepened the solemn stare I contained. I then looked down. _"…No."_ I whispered gruffly.

_**It's just a day that brings it all about**_

_**Just another day and nothing's any good**_

"_Well, what is it then?"_ she took a step closer. _"Atemu, tell me, please."_

It was true I had to tell her sometime around. I've never feared anything so deeply like the way I felt of me losing the one who I once claimed meant Egypt to me. I've lost her already, I **cannot** lose her twice.

And I wonder how I let that happen the first.

_**I'm playing the same song**_

_**I have so much to do**_

_**I have to carry on**_

_**I wonder if this grief will ever let me go**_

"_Atemu…?"_ she leaned in close to my neck, faint breeze of her presence to where I felt like she could be breathing on it making sure I jumped, just to frown shyly and then look away in a serious frown.

In a superior tone, _"If you must know..."_ I paused for sometime now. I bowed my head and gritted my teeth. _"Yahshi, you know you could've lost yourself back there…"_

_**I feel like I am the king of sorrow, **_

_**The king of sorrow**_

Yahshi broke out a soft smile in which I didn't understand the reason why. _"Is that what's been troubling you?"_ She sighed as if relieved and closed her eyes. Quickly she looked to the side in a sad smile. _"…You shouldn't even be thinking about it, Atemu. Please, stop worrying. Your mind will become restless again…"_

_**I suppose I could just walk away**_

_**Will I disappoint my future if I stay?**_

_**How can she be so calm?!**_ _"Yahshi there was a good chance that Maibe would've never given back your soul from the shadows! She_—"

_**It's just a day that brings it all about**_

_**Just another day and nothing's any good**_

She hushed me with a hand, shaking her head. "_My Atemu, you just simply stress too much over the past. What happened has happened. I'm HERE…aren't I?"_

My hand hesitantly held hers that hushed my lips, taking it down from them. _"You're wrong dreadfully…"_

I slid my fingers down her transparent skin until my hand landed on her shoulder. "_Being the all mighty and last line of the royal blood 5,000 years ago, there are evil souls similar to Maibe who will try to separate and destroy us for all eternity…" _My worry rose.

_**I'm playing the same song**_

_**I have so much to do**_

_**I have to carry on**_

_**I wonder will this grief ever be gone**_

_**Will it ever go?**_

"_Yes, but they're going to try, not succeed."_

"_Yahshi…"_ my voice was a slight urgent warning. _"You don't understand! If something happened to you…I'd rather be released from the burden of carrying on in this realm than stay. I forgot you completely. I do not wish to do it again…"_

_**I'm the king of sorrow, yeah**_

_**The king of sorrow**_

_**I'm crying everyone's tears**_

_**I have already paid for all my future sins**_

_**There's nothing anyone**_

_**Can say to take this away**_

_**It's just another day and nothing's any good**_

Her eyes showed so much worry and urgency. _"Selfish King, how do you have the courage to say that in the same room with him? Think of YUGI."_

"_5 Millennia ago,"_ I began in a shaky tone. _"You were taken from me…You died before me, you died in front of me…even though I can't remember it exactly, the feeling never goes away. And seeing what Maibe did to you, forced me to relive it again…"_ I sighed in knowledge of how she would never understand. My eyes turned away in a hurtful feeling dwelling within their lights. After a minute, I bit into my bottom lip and spoke slowly, _"…Yahshi, please forgive me …"_

_**I'm the king of sorrow, yeah**_

_**King of sorrow**_

_**I'm the king of sorrow, yeah**_

_**King of sorrow**_

"_What? For what? You like talking in riddles now."_

I lowered my head and gritted my teeth, harder this time in familiar pain that came back even stronger. "_You were in danger…and there was nothing I could do to save you…"_ I clenched my fists all of the sudden. _"I failed you…and that almost repeated itself today. It is the most unworthy feeling I've ever felt."_

_**I'm the king of sorrow, yeah**_

_**The king of sorrow**_

_**I'm the king of sorrow, yeah**_

_**The king of sorrow**_

"_Oh my King…"_ I felt her hand wrap around my quaking fist, and unfold my fingers to be tying in hers. She lifted my chin so that I was looking into her eyes. Everything…seemed calm and gentle again when I stared into her patient and amorous eyes. "_You never failed me…you have never let me down...you have always been there for me no matter what…and I could never think of anyone else who has been beside me every step of the way more than you."_

"_But…what if I lose you once again and I __**do**__ fail you…? What if we are separated for all eternity?"_

_**I'm the king of sorrow**_

_**The king of sorrow**_

_**I'm the king of sorrow**_

_**The king of sorrow**_

"_You can't possibly think our strength is that weak."_

_**I'm the king…of sorrow, yeah**_

_**The king of sorrow…**_

_**(End of Song)**_

She warmly smiled at me, resting a finger on my chest, directing to my heart. "_As long as we have one another in our hearts…we are never apart."_ She looked back up to me in such a tenderness and knowledge within her amber-glowing eyes. _"Trust in us and the connection will overpower anything."_ She then looked down in some thoughts. _"Even so, you don't need to worry, Atemu. I'll be fi—"_

—I stopped her short in a surprise kiss, pulling her waist to me.

Her eyes stayed wide open as our lips caressed.

Finally all my sorrow and agony had melted away into the kiss. I released finally in a smile, our foreheads against one another's. I breathed faintly of the words against her lips, _"I'll never let you out of my sight again…"_

We stayed like that for some time, but we only parted to share another warm kiss. I enjoyed every moment with Yahshi close to me. Just for one second I'd miss it forever...

Even if there was one, large problem that was between us.

The failure of my memory and the capability to relive our love.

**NEXT MORNING (End of point of view)**

A new day had risen with the crack of daylight shining through the glass of the window. Sparrows chirped in singsong rhymes and riddles as the happy hour was discovered.

Yugi opened his eyes and yawned. He did a complete double-take when he saw Juliet in his bed, though he had been rested his head on the bedside throughout the entire night. He struggled to jog his memory, and finally it returned. Everything about that Maibe, the incident and the ancient Nephthys Goddess of Femi card came back to him.

"So that really wasn't some dream…" he stared at the sleeping girl. "It all really happened." He looked down at the duel monster card still in his hand. "Thank goodness this worked to bring her back…"

The spirit of the Pharaoh just stared at in him half in pity and half in pride.

Yugi looked back at Isolde, who was still sleeping ever so peacefully. "Wait, didn't I tell her that I…" a deep red grazed over his face. "URGGGGH!" he scratched and tossed his head wildly. "AH! WHAT WAS I THINKING SAYING THAT OUT LOUD?!" he paused when he heard her stir.

Yugi calmed himself down as he leaned over her. All of the sudden a smile triggered on his lips. He just chuckled to himself. "…At least…it brought her back." he leaned in closer on his body's freewill. He was too distracted to realize what he was doing. He bent down close to her face…just a few inches closer and—

"MORNIN' YUGI!" Yugi's Grandpa barged in.

Yugi widened his eyes, finally noticing how his lips were centimeters from hers, as if he were her prince to come and awaken the sleeping beauty. He quickly jumped back and fell on his rear with an overheated blush burning his entire face bright red.

"Um, Yugi?" Mr.Motou looked and pointed at the sleeping Isolde. "Have you noticed Isolde here sleeping in your bed?! What is SHE doing here?!"

"It's not what you think!!!" he sweat dropped. "Isolde was attacked last night and I brought her back here to tend to her! Y-yeah!"

Mr. Motou rushed to the bedside quickly, asking, "Is she alright now?!"

Yugi looked down at her with soft and caring eyes. "Yeah, she's fine now…thankfully."

"Well that is good news. Who was this bad guy?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you, but it was like some demonic figure that tried to steal her Millennium item. She says her master calls her Maibe, and nearly killed Isolde …"

"I know that must have been horrible, having an encounter with a demon trying to go after both your items I suppose?"

"It was pretty scary at first. But everything is fine now that she's okay…" Yugi stared down upon the girl in great relieve and care. "Just not with that sorceress running around. But anyway, I'm gonna take care of Juliet today."

"Well, I'm glad she's doing well. Do you want breakfast?"

"No thanks, I'll skip and just stay here and watch over her."

"Alright fine, be her guard dog but you must come down here and eat something." Mr. Motou left the room and headed down stairs.

Yugi looked back down to Isolde . He hoped she would wake up sooner than later.

"No, she needs all the rest she can get." He decided.

_**Roof Top**_

Treacherous and immoral, that hooded figure grown to hatred, grown to darkness, sat perched on the Game shop's roof top. The demonic sorceress flattened her red eye in disapproval and absence of mind.

"_**So she survived, just like every other trap I've put her through. Maybe this is something more powerful than I have thought possible…"**_

"_That is because you are in the presence of strong spirits ahead of your own." _

Her visible red eye fixed on the Queen standing there before her in spirit form.

"_**If it isn't Thema Yahshi Kamilah Shani. You are just begging to be banished, aren't you?"**_

"_I am demanding __**you**__ banish from here before I teach you a great lesson of what power is all about, Maibe, loyal consul and betrayer of Sa-Ra Akunumkanon and Sa-Ra Atemu till deed is fulfilled after death..."_ Yahshi scowled with a horrible side no one had dared seen before.

"_**And so you remember my old position, how thoughtful of you."**_

"_How can I ever forget it? That is after all the name of the one who killed me during the War of Darkness 5,000 years ago..." _

"…_**My Thema, I would love to take that lesson of yours, but I have already mastered more than you have. Don't doubt the master." **_

"_You are servant and prophetess of He-Who-Remains-Unnamed, I am servant and prophetess of Ra, God of Egypt…"_ Yahshi narrowed her eyes in a serious sense of hate. _"You are a nothingness compared to—" _

"_**The power of the Millennium items and what you have with your Pharaoh, I know. But what you don't know is how what your two friends done there have, and what you and Sa-Ra have, is rarely real in REALITY. Love is not about happiness, fairytales, pink bubbles, and butterflies with flying unicorns galloping over colorful rainbows. It is the most painful and hardest thing on this earth, a wrecked paradise for desperate survival. Today we see it as weakness. That weakness is something that can back fire instantly and stab you in the deepest core of your heart. What you and your precious Pharaoh have isn't true, it isn't powerful, because you FORGOT each other!" **_

"_You're asking for a shadow game, dear peasant of the nothings?" _

"_**I'd love one. But I'm here to torture you, your Pharaoh and your two sickened friends down there. I have no time for your petty games at the moment."**_

"_And in other words, you're fleeing from fight already."_

"_**My dear, royal Thema…I killed you once, and I can kill you again." **_ Maibe threatened in a gruesome tone. She turned her back, cloak wavering through the air.

"_DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! OR I'LL—" _

"_**Or-you'll-what?"**_ Maibe glanced over her shoulder with the pupil within her red eye in a catlike eclipse. _**"Lecture me to death with your trifling love speeches?"**_

Yahshi held out a card, folding in her fingers all except two close to her lips as she was about to say a small ritual.

Before the words even got out of her mouth, Maibe countered her with the electrical black discharge. The attack paralyzed Yahshi's arm and the hand grasping the card.

"_**Don't worry, Thema, prophetess of O' Great Ra. Very soon I promise I will kill you as you wished. But for right now, being death's servant, you'll just have to get in line." **_Maibe jumped from roof top to roof top until she had disappeared completely.

The paralysis wore off minutes later and released Yahshi from the electric grasp. _"Drat!"_ She fell to her knees and to the floor, frustrated. _"…I could've had her this time…"_

Much, much sooner than later Maibe was going to reappear to steal the power of the kings and queens of Egypt, and all the souls she could find. All of this nonsense was just playtime, soon it was bound to become a struggle between life and death. She nearly succeeded in destroying the world once; she can try to do it again. She is after all the apprentice of _**him**_, the great Lord behind the secret of the Millennium items. Darkness would fall upon the night of Domino City just like five millennia ago in that of very Egypt.


	8. Unrefined

_**Unrefined**_

Now that she was confirmed to be well, Yugi had promised himself to not worry while she rested with ease. He sat on the side of the bed and watched her sleep. A small smile broke free on his face.

"Yugi?" his Grandpa walked up next to him. "How is she?"

Yugi looked up at him with a sense of being torn between uncertainty and certainty. "I think she'll be okay, but she's been sleeping a long time now..."

"Well she's just exhausted from all that's been going on lately. It is a good thing that she's resting more; she needs to save her energy."

"Well…" Yugi stared down at her, stroking her hair. "I just hope she wakes soon."

"My, my, my." Mr.Motou grinned to himself. "You really like her don't you?"

Yugi's blushing came in pink shades. "N-No! Of course I don't…I… at least I don't think…I…" There was no way Yugi was gonna tell his Grandpa.

"Mm-hm, that's what I thought. But I would have guessed you told her by now."

"Grandpa!" Yugi complained in embarrassment.

"What's the hold up, hm Yugi?"

"Grandpa…" Yugi tossed his head. "It's not that easy!"

"It should be. Knowing you care for the girl, and have a thing for her, you need to tell her so. I have to say you're going through too much trouble just to get out simple words. Just say, 'I like you' or something, boy! Now I'm going to go to the grocery store to get some things, you stay here and look after the girl!"

"Alright Grandpa…" Yugi sighed as we watched his Grandpa shut the door after he left for the store.

Mr. Motou quickly opened the bedroom door again. "Oh and by the way, Isolde's Millennium item is the one with the name 'Thema Yahshi Kamilah Shani' written on it right? She possesses the spirit of the Queen?"

Yugi opened his mouth to speak—

—"Well then maybe the Pharaoh's spirit of the Millennium Puzzle and the Queen inside her Millennium Bangle can teach you a few romance lessons to get that love life of yours going!" Mr. Motou shut the door loudly.

Yugi sweat dropped. "Wha…I DON'T HAVE A LOVE LIFE!"

"EXACTLY!" Mr. Motou shouted as he opened the door again, and quickly shut it.

Yugi just shook his head in confusion and dismissed whatever just happened. His eyes leveled on his Isolde.

"I can't do that…but that Maibe is bound to come back sooner than later and something even worse could happen to us all. Then I'd never be able to tell her…but I just can't do it. I had said it before when I was trying to break that curse but…she didn't hear it…" He hesitated to stand up, and leave the room for a short period, glancing back a few times to see if she was still sound asleep. He quietly closed the bedroom door behind him.

"_This will get harder if you don't say something to her."_ Atemu stood next to him in his faint spirit form with a—I'm always right—smile fixed on his face.

Yugi stared at him with a perplexed look. "What do you mean?"

Atemu closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "_It tugs on you constantly, when you don't tell her what you long for, it builds up in your heart. Over flows it, drowns it to where you get an illness from the very emotion you have." _

"Wow." Yugi raised an eyebrow. "When did you become so good at poetry?"

Yugi's yami gave him one of his serious expressions now. "_I'm __**not**__ kidding, Yugi. Waiting so long affects you. If you keep this up you will lose her very soon. It's nice to know you found that special someone, but it is important to know what a cost for waiting so long is." _

"But it isn't that simple! You can't blurt something like that out! You have no clue what I'm going through, Pharaoh!"

Atemu frowned at him in disapproval. _"I don't know what you're going through? You act as if I have never experienced this before. I know more about what you're going through than you do yourself might I remind you." _

"You mean…you and Yahshi...had a hard time with this lovey-dovey stuff too?"

"_Listen, I know how hard it is but it's BEST to follow what's in your heart." _

"But weren't you afraid of the "what ifs"? I mean _**what if**_ she didn't feel the same way? Rejection is what I mean."

"_Yugi, as I have said, follow your heart and become the seeker for truth. Even if she didn't feel for me like I felt for her, I needed to tell her whether or not. All that pressure would have been weighing down my heart if I didn't." _

"But…" Yugi looked down in some sadness. "To go on with her not feeling the same for you…would be..." He looked on the down side of that.

Atemu shut his eyes and smirked. _"And what if Isolde feels something for you after all?"_

Yugi shot up from his sad unsure state, and looked at his Yami with his eyes wide. "How do _**you**_ know?"

"_I'm not completely sure but I can see a spark between you two. I can't confirm someone else's feeling but I know it is a great possibility. Maybe she doesn't, maybe she does, if you asked her, I'm sure you will know."_ His yami's spirit disappeared.

Yugi looked at the floor with some confusion. "Keyword is _**maybe**_."

Within a few minutes he had found himself by Isolde's side again. He was still worried she may never wake.

_What if she's in a coma or something?__The future of me ever telling her would have been drowned out._He shook his head. "No I'm just being silly…and an idiot."

He would still stay here until she wakes. But it was getting late and school was to be started in the morning. He heavily sighed and rested his chin on the covers still with locked eyes on the girl.

From what the 5,000 year old spirits were seeing, this kind of power couldn't be broken. Not by a thousand sorceresses or any type of evil presence.

"_Atemu, do you think…love is a weakness and destruction to all mankind?" _Yahshi asked him curiously.

He looked at Yugi and Isolde again. _"…Never in my mind have I thought that."_

"…_Do you think love," _she paused in mid-sentence, eyelids dropping with soft shimmers of light against their emotional orbs of amber. _"…can overpower Maibe's too…?" _

"_Why of course…"_

"_So do you think ours can withstand it too?" _

Yami Atemu locked his eyes with Yahshi's, blinking. _"Of course it can." _

She looked down with a free exhale of relief. Little did he know, she wanted to be certain he finally believed and stopped his doubting-spree.

"_**You**__ were the one who encouraged me to never doubt our connection. You know by now, that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, Yahshi. I promise it, with all my heart and it can't be broken by a thousand swords." _He said laughingly, hoping she remembered this line.

She eyed him with a pleased face. _"You said that when we first met, O' Romeo Pharaoh." _

Atemu wrapped an arm around her as he pressed his nose to hers. "_And it hasn't changed since."_

She giggled lightly and smiled up at his drawn-in dazed face. _"You know my Atemu, I thought after 5 Millennia I would never see you again. And here you are, still beautiful."_ She smirked, almost sensually, circling him with her fingers to his shoulder. _"You still have that masculinity down. Shoulders, back straight…" _

Yami Atemu shivered when her fingernails traced down between his shoulder blades.

"_Never slumping, never round…" _ her voice tuned smoothly lower. _"It would stimulate me, just to see you walk…into a room, across the room…out of the room." _She gave a humored snort, seeing his slanted sensual eye stalk her. _"I remember how amazingly you would spread my limbs across continents, as we bumped our bed way over mountains. You kissed this…and this, and this, and this…and that. We showed each other were our climax was at. The night before we passed, you were in my body, my dome…in a circle of passion to Paris, Italy, Japan, Africa, Rome. We made music and tribuned, you know…"_

"_Is that so?" _The yami's voice came low itself, to where it brought an erotic seduction to the table. Yahshi never thought he'd find it; to be seductive, you must know you're sexually attractive. This Pharaoh had always played clueless and strength-driven. But now that he was catching onto what his looks and dear atmosphere could do to a mere woman, she stopped herself.

Yahshi just laughed nervously, waving it off. _"I'm just saying things, Pharaoh; I'm trying to woo you, to see if you'll light up in a pink fury or…" _

"_Or?"_ He leant his tempting lips to the rim of her ear, rumbling its drum with his powerfully tender voice.

"…_That,"_ Yahshi breathed, frozen by what sensations were attacking her senses.

"_Hmph," _Atemu smirked. _"You're never wooed so easily like this."_

"_Oh my Pharaoh…"_ Yahshi gave out a cute noise between a snort and a sigh, as if he should know the answer. "_Any girl would go crazy being anywhere near you…" _by her loss of breath, she meant it.

Atemu smiled at this, and slid his arms around her waist line. _"Well the only one I want to be anywhere near is you." _

Yahshi gifted him with a thinned smile, tilting back her head and parting her lips with eyes closed to capture his appetizing lips.

A snickering interrupted this lovey dovey moment, making Yahshi and Atemu jerk back.

"You two are a definite _**lovely**_ couple." Yugi grinned broadly to himself at the two.

Atemu gave him a death glare. _"…Watch it, Yugi."_

"Okay, okay don't get all moody! I was only kidding, gees!"

_**Nightfall (8:00pm)**_

Yugi had been _**forced**_ by his Grandpa to come into the living room and eat Chinese take out for dinner. He returned from his rice meal and went back into position of seeing over. He found her looking into the covers she clutched tightly.

He walked over to her. "Well 'Sleeping Beauty' I'm glad to see you're awake! Interesting there was no kiss involved." His flashback of him earlier this morning nearly kissing her appeared in his mind. _I wonder if that would have worked…_

Isolde smiled right away when her eyes saw Yugi. "I'm sorry for sleeping so long…"

He sat next to her with his hands holding something. "No it's fine really, you deserved the rest. Uh…I saved you a fortune cookie," He handed the cookie to her to let her see her fortune. "We were having Chinese food for supper…" he added.

She took the cookie, observed it, and cracked it open down the center. "I wish this cookie could actually grant me my fortune…" she turned to Yugi as she slid out the little paper inside. "Why don't we read the fortune together?"

"Um, sure." Yugi nodded as he moved up to her and looked over the words as they both read aloud:

"**Your search to the end of the earth has ended. Your special quest is closer to your boundaries than you know. Thy heart will heal in the arms of the one beside you**."

Yugi and Isolde blinked three times and slowly looked up at each other.

Yugi gulped as he hoped it wasn't referring to him, or else she'll ask then he'll have to confess it when not the right time. But instead Isolde didn't say anything about it.

She seemed a little lost in thoughts. _C'mon, it's just a fortune cookie…a worthless randomness. _

"Iz'? You okay?"

She looked up into the depths of his eyes searching for what maybe truth. She could find nothing but shyness. "Yeah... I'm super. Just still a little tired I guess—Hey, Yugi?"

"Yeah what is it?"

"…How did you defeat Maibe? The last thing I even remember was…calling out your name for salvation…"

"Me?" Yugi pointed a finger to himself with a blush.

"Mm-hm." She smiled lightly. "…You were the first thing that came to my mind."

"…Well, actually," he scratched the back of his head. "The Pharaoh was the one who saved us all. But I was able to bring you from the Shadow Realms…"

She clutched the covers and leaned in. "How did you do it?"

Not the question he was hoping to be asked. "H-How did I do it? Well I-I-I…uh…I kind of forgot exactly how." Yugi gave her a wide but timid grin.

"Oh, that's alright. But listen I'm…I'm really sorry."

"For what reasons?"

"Well, it's just that," She looked into her covers with sorrow filling up the corners of her mind. "Maibe was looking for _**me**_, and if it hadn't been for me…all of this would've never happened…"

Yugi shook his head. "It isn't your fault."

"Oh but it is. Just by being here, she tends to hurt you and steal your item away now that I've brought her here. Maybe…maybe it would have been best if I never had moved here at all…"

"But then we would've never met! I don't know what I'd do if you just suddenly got up and left…."

"But Yugi, without me, you would be safer."

"That doesn't matter…I would rather have_ you_ safe than me."

Isolde shook her head. "I just don't want you to suffer because of me."

"Don't worry about me, worry about you. I promise I'll be fine. You being here doesn't make a difference anyway, whether you're here or not, she still would've come after me. Besides, I've been through tougher and more dangerous stuff than any of this."

"Since you have a Millennium item, I can only imagine. But it's also just…" she paused and flinched as if feeling something in her heart, and looked down dimly.

Yugi's purple eyes had followed her turquoise ones. "Also just what?"

"…I've finally found a true friend, who reminds me of what friendship and love means again, and I don't want to lose you like I lost Mom--…my Mother..."

"But see, TOGETHER we can withstand anything." Yugi lifted her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. "Don't EVER forget that, okay?"

A shy smile spread across her face. She leaned in and drew him into her embrace.

From what Yugi felt, it was a different hug she rarely gave him. His heart melted when she gave him a kiss to his cheek again. He loved those. "You know if you're still tired, you can start a resting period now..."

The Isolde girl parted from him. "Oh but I hate to rob you of your bed again."

"You're not. I can sleep in a sleeping bag on the carpet."

"You sure? It doesn't seem comfortable enough, and the floor might be too cold…"

"Believe me this sleeping bag is like sleeping in the heat of Death Valley."

They both shared a laugh before it was exactly time for bedtime. Isolde was still a little ill so it was decided for her to stay home while Yugi went to school in the morning. Yugi had offered her one of his long black T-shirts so she wouldn't be sleeping in wet clothes.

He left the room for her to change and sighed as he slid down the door. When he went downstairs or into the bathroom to change his own clothes, his Grandpa immediately demanded him to go upstairs and get into bed no questions asked since it was so late. Afraid of any consequence, Yugi sleepily walked up to his room, forgetting all about Isolde changing, and that became his consequence…

He opened the door, and from his weary face came his jaw-slacked and wide eyed look.

Isolde blinked as she paused in the position of the black shirt over her head, but all that scarred him for life even if he was a teen, was the fact that all he saw her in was a white bra hugging her perked breasts and underwear falling lopsidedly off her pelvic. He gulped loudly, eyes buggy, never seeing anything so pervertedly beautiful in his life…

She blushed as nervous levels reached the limit of her embarrassment.

His face was marked with streaks of red as he gawked. He then flinched and shut his eyes tightly, hearing a screech and the thud of a shoe knocking against his head.

"YUGI!!!" she used the shirt to hide herself as she lifted a fist to her mouth in great worry, her own face as red as his.

"I'M SORRY!!" he sped out with a burning face, tripping down the stairs as she heard, and then his grandpa's yell. Downstairs and into the bathroom he proceeded to rip his eyes out.

_**15 minutes later**_

"….Is it safe to come in now?" Yugi shouted from behind the closed door.

Isolde sighed with her arms crossing over her chest. "Yes…"

The door never opened an inch…

"YES."

He opened the door slightly, seeing just her in the long black T-shirt sitting on the bed. Yugi sighed and moved to the closet to take out his sleeping bag. His eyes met hers. "Is that shirt too small for you?"

"Well…" she looked down on the T-shirt, for it was long but a small size…must've been his old shirt a while back, either that or he's just plain small. She shook her head. "No, it fits fine…" They were the same height after all.

(A/N: Yugi grew at least six inches in my story by the way…oh that's a lot for the little man, right?)

"…Um, listen I'm sorry for barging in on you like that," Yugi apologized nervously, too ashamed to face her. "I-I didn't mean it, honestly…and I-I didn't even see a lot…"

"You saw enough…"

"If it makes you feel any better," he shut his eyes tightly. "You look…you look good…" he suddenly paused. "UM, NOT THAT I…NOT THAT I WAS EXAMINING OR ANYTHING!!"

Isolde just stared…

"I swear I'm not like that!!!" he frantically waved his hands around, and then scratched his hair wildly with his eyes shut tightly and face entirely red. "I'm not some pervert trying to disrespect you or anything like that!!"

She slightly furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes looking him up and down.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm really, really, really, so, so, so sorry!" he said quickly. "ARGGGGH!!!"

_**Midnight**_

While Yugi and Isolde were resting, one in the bed, and one on the floor in a sleeping bag, His Yami's spirit restlessly watched the stars from the ceiling window.

He was focused and steady in the eyes, trying to recall his forgotten memories with Yahshi, even the ones that were better left forgotten. His other days as a Pharaoh had left him completely, but days with him and Yahshi were still present. Her being there with him triggered memories.

"_I wish I could remember everything."_ He sighed with his eyes still on the stars in a dark sky, he just thought, trying or wishing to recall his memories. Half because these days revealed him as Pharaoh, and half out of curiosity…for even he wished to remember ones better left forgotten…ones that didn't need to be redeemed…


	9. The Legend of SaRa and His Thema

The Legend of Sa-Ra and His Thema

_**The Legend of Sa-Ra and His Thema **_

_She was much older; fifteen to be exact. Now she had even more responsibility. Her parents, aging like antique time, had been advising her to wed on her sixteenth birthday so she could rule as queen which would be confirmed tomorrow. The war for governance was over after it resulted in a treaty. However, problems established between Cairo and Giza once more. A succeeding war was on its way and Yahshi was going to lead it with her Pharaoh. Her parents no longer had the strength for this warfare, yet they were going to make sure their daughter would not refuse their demands…_

"_Married." Yahshi stretched out on her luxuriantly made bed. "MARRIED, married, MARRIED. After all this time, they still choose to make __**my **__choices." She puckered out her lips in a pout. "They don't understand I want to marry for __**love**__. They would act as if it is totally predictable." _

_She continued to wonder until she stared into eternal space. Only one name popped into her usually athletic mind, "Atemu…"_

_Yahshi covered her lips with her trembling fingers, flushing. _

_(Song, "My All" by Mariah Carey)_

_**I am thinking **_

_**Of you  
In my sleepless solitude**_

_**tonight **_

_It was every night now she'd remember the hieroglyphics of the way his name was spelt and whisper it from her lips like a romanced prayer filling her heart's religious belief. It was every night now she could only imagine what he'd look like, grown and gorgeous, breath-taking nevertheless…_

_She softened her eyes as heat traveled her face. "… He's Sa-Ra now, too." _

_Yahshi and Atemu are still forever forbidden to even speak, for they would be participating in combat against one another... _

_**If it's wrong **_

_**To love you  
Then my heart just won't **_

_**Let me be right**_

_She let out a feverish breath and curled up against the side of her bed. Her eyelids drooped a bit. All she could think about was Atemu…her beloved enemy…_

'_**Cause I'm drowned in you  
And I won't pull through  
Without you**_

_**by my side**_

_She snuggled into her bed's fur, hugging her shoulders. "I wonder…if he ever thinks of me…Or if he's OBSESSED over me like I pathetically am him." _

_Yahshi recalled him promising her, that she'd see him again:_

"_**Will you promise we'll meet again some day, Atemu?"**_

"_**Promise." **_

"_**Do you really?" **_

"_**Of course I do. You're the only Princess that understands me, and I don't want to erase you out of my memory. And I don't want you to do that to me either, so…" Atemu's fingers lifted the silver lace of his cartouche pendant from his neck, and put it around her own neck for her to wear. **_

_The light in her eye danced as the shade of amber became darker, caressing her hand to the cartouche dearly…_

_**I'd give my all **_

_**To have  
Just one more night with you**_

_Yahshi shook off the sensation of her heart fluttering. Princess fallen through love. Was it really the reason why she thought of him so much? Dream of him every night in her sleep? It didn't matter…all that did matter was getting to see his face again…before she married, before one might die in the contest for supremacy once again._

_**I'd risk my life**_

_**To feel  
Your body next to mine  
'cause I can't **_

_**Go on  
Living in the **_

_**Memory of your song**_

_Yahshi sat upright as strands of hair follicle fell off her shoulder blade and swayed forward as she leaned in abruptness; eyes in distance apparitions, lights against her beautiful orbs a glow. _

_**I'd give my all for your love tonight**_

_She looked up when releasing a held back breath. The image of his warmth never left her mind. She closed her eyes, imagining… "Hmph…I wish he'd think of me too…and suffer from the insanity I am right now."_

_**Baby can you feel me  
Imagining **_

_**I'm looking in your eyes  
I can see **_

_**You clearly  
Vividly **_

_**Emblazoned in my mind **_

_The Princess stood near her window. She saw the stars out in the sea of the black night and experienced the chills run up her spine as she looked across the desert. He was just across those rich sands of Egypt…_

_**And yet you're so far  
Like a distant star  
I'm wishing **_

_**On tonight**_

_**I'd give my all to have…  
Just one more night with you **_

_She sat on the edge of her window and let a wind whirl play with her mane. Soon her fingers found the cartouche pendant rested peacefully on her chest. "Atemu…when will we meet again?" _

_**I'd risk my life to feel  
Your body next to mine  
'cause I can't go on  
Living in the memory of your song  
I'd give my all for your love tonight**_

"_Princess?" Inyahlay walked in from the entrance. _

_Yahshi recognized the voice so she didn't bother to turn her head. "What is it?" _

"_I just came to check on you, and make sure you weren't sneaking out of boundary again."_

_She furrowed her eyebrows._

"_But I see that you're occupied in thoughts about a definite someone." He grinned while looking off to the side. _

"_That's not amusing, you know. So what? He was the only true friend I had." _

_Inyahlay cleared his throat in disagreement. _

"_Oh, except you Inyahlay." She smiled nervously. _

_Sabah raised his head from his resting and growled._

"…_And you, Sabah."_

_He set his head back down into his paws._

"_I'm sorry, I've been so out of proportion lately, forgive me for…thinking about him." _

"_I have been informed that he's a powerful Sa-Ra now and there is rumor that he is the one chosen king that'll one day bring Egypt to rebirth. His father disappeared from existence without anyone knowing what had become of him. But Sa-Ra Atemu is now in search of a Thema to help his struggles."_

_Yahshi's heart stopped…_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night…)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night…)**_

_Yahshi bent over her bricked window and rasped in a struggle, "Why would you tell me that? We destined to be enemies, you know this…"_

"_I don't agree. Not the way I saw him look upon you that occasion we went to find you on your mother's arrays a few years back. And he called you his Omorose?" _

_She blushed down on such name he nicknamed her that night. She couldn't help but smile. "Just one more night…"_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night…)**_

_Yahshi gasped at what she had murmured and shook the emotions away in a rosy flush of cheeks. "No…we were only children. Children can't fall through the spell of the eyes of another like that. We were too young for something so cynical to us, something so powerful and misunderstanding…" _

"_That's untrue, Princess. You can't be too young to even fall through a liking for each other; man kind has not found an impossible emotion not felt yet, no matter how young or old."_

_Yahshi struggled to unearth a superior reply. "I don't care for Atemu in that way…I swear on the Gods, I don't see him through my eyes in that sense … we're only friends…we're only enemies." 'And that's all we ever were…'_

_**I'd give my all to have  
Just one more night with you**_

"_Even good friends can fall, Princess, and some never get back up." Inyahlay patted her back as he noticed her sadness. "I think you and Sa-Ra Atemu could make a wonderful pair of royalty's love." He joked. _

"_Oh quit such hopelessness! Don't plagiarize my dreams…" Yahshi smiled as she gave her personal guardian a playful smile. Inyahlay was like an uncle to her. "…Do you really believe I've fallen through the break of love for him?"_

"_That's for you to know, not me. It all depends if you trust it or not, but these days people seek it like a religion."_

"_Love or NO love, I just want to see him again so I can remember how to breathe." she whispered, looking down into her lap. "I'd give up everything to see Atemu again…that's all I wish for. Even if it were to be a second…I don't ever want to fight or go against our friendship…" she frowned as she clutched the bedside between her fingers furiously. "I amnot going to fight Sa-Ra Atemu of Giza's Luxor!" _

_**I'd risk my life to feel  
Your body next to mine  
'cause I can't go on  
Living in the memory of your song**_

_Inyahlay watched as she resisted back crystal salt tears. In pity to see the worshipped this way, he sat down next to her, rubbing her back. "Now, now, Princess, you don't have to be so down hearted and stressed. Maybe there is a way you can see him again…" _

_Yahshi shook her head knowingly. "How can I do that? Mother and father forbid it…"_

"_Since when did you care? If you are as good as a vixen as I know you are, you can escape."_

"_But Inyahlay—"_

"_I'll cover you so you won't be seen." _

"_Why…do you want to help me anyway…?"_

"_Well Princess," he stood up and pounded his chest once. "The connection between you and Sa-Ra Atemu just might be what we need to end our rivalry between histories. Besides, what you two have…is something I've never in actuality seen before—you will ride before midnight across the sands of the deserts and away from here. I'll get Chenzira ready for your journey, after all, his name does mean born on a journey." _

"_Thank you, Inyahlay…"_

_Inyahlay nodded, and left her room. As soon as he was out of her bedroom, his smile went weary as he paused, then continued walking._

_Yahshi sat their for a moment, thinking it over again. This is a good idea she had only wished her parents could appreciate._

_**Nightfall**_

_**I'd give my all for love…  
Tonight**_

_The stars were ready to guide the princess over a sea of sand on her black horse. The desert horse galloped boldly across the deserted land into the late darkness for when the guards weren't around their boundaries. Yahshi raced out of her kingdom and over the mound domes. _

_I'd give my all… tonight…_

_She booted the horse's sides to gesture him to stride more rapidly. Chenzira did as demanded and sped up along the sand hillocks._

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night…)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night…)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night)**_

_**(Just one more night…) **_

_Yahshi gritted her teeth as the horse paced harder. Her eyes gleamed with a fire heart. Hours passed like eternity had befallen Egypt, and during her ride she entered the Valley of the Kings once again as the moon hung high over the golden canyon walls._

_**Your body next to mine**_

'_**cause I can't go on**_

_**Without your love **_

_**I give my all for your love**_

_**I'd give my all to have  
just one more night **_

_**I'd risk my life…**_

_**(End of Song)**_

_Chenzira's teeth yanked on the reins and pulled forth Yahshi's weight to contract her attention. Yahshi had apparently been off thinking about something rather than what was ahead of her. She came to reality and saw what she wished she didn't. _

_In the path ahead, two straying spotted leopards of the desert roared and growled at their approach after they jumped from the edges of the canyon rocks. _

_Chenzira's fear took control as he stopped in mid gallop and stood tall on his hind legs. Wildly, the black stallion stamped the sands, flinging the wavers in his black mane as he bucked._

_The leopards took no threat of Chenzira's warnings, and charged head-on toward Yahshi and her favorite stallion. They separated their paths as one went to the right of the horse and the other went to the left as to be their hunting tactic. The largest and hungriest one aimed for a clawing at Yahshi._

_Chenzira was attacked to the back neck by the second leopard. With a few wild bucks, jumps and rears Chenzira managed to break free of the undomesticated hunters. _

_The leopards hissed and shot after their prey. _

_Chenzira panted heavily as he galloped into the sandy path between the Valley of the Kings. _

_Yahshi looked behind them to see the leopards gaining velocity. She gasped in fright and tightened the hold of the reins, "Chafulumisa ("faster"), Chafulumisa, Chenzira!"_

_The horse all of the sudden took longer and outstretched gallops as he sprinted harder across Egypt's ground, his glossy black coat of muscles rippling in the moonlight. His hooves skidded in the sand as he made a right turn between the narrow canyons, tearing fiercely._

_A leopard pounced during the horse's turn, and managed to dig its claws into Chenzira's hind as it chewed his hindquarters._

_Several times he kicked to no avail, which slowed him down. _

_Chenzira made an accidental trip over his front leg, which hurled him into the sand. He flipped over on his side, smothering Yahshi who was held prisoner under his weight right beneath him. _

_The leopard stood on the horse's stomach as it gazed hungrily into Yahshi's terrified face. But hurriedly Chenzira squirmed, kicking his legs about to scare the creature away. The horse lifted from the ground and let Yahshi up onto his back once more. _

_Sneakily, the predators circled him, drooling salvia that wetted the cool grains beneath their paws. _

_Yahshi continued wishing she never did this. Far out in the desert, no one could help her now. Her horse was left for rather death and so was she to be. _

_The lead big cat clawed and struck at Chenzira's stomach, causing him to rear back and buck Yahshi off. _

_The Princess fell to the sand brutally as she choked on the salty grains. _

_Once helpless, the leopard sorts for an opening bite. Thanks to her horse, the leopard was punted away. _

_Now Chenzira would have to pay the price for interfering. His nape was was assaulted by the other leopard's fangs, blood emptying onto the sand._

_The princess watched in horror as Chenzira was being attacked by the two predators, coated in blood-spattered wounds. She thought of the one thing that could save them…_

_A wide ranged and high pitched whistle escaped her lips and traveled over the deserts' lands… _

_A cheetah's bellow called out over the Sahara. In a moment's notice, an emperor cheetah was speeding through the sand hills at top speed. _

_Sabah_

_Both leopards retracted from the black horse, blood staining their snouts. They licked their muzzles and focused eyes on the new moving target. The first leopard hissed, forehead wrinkled, whiskers lifting with the show of its curving white fangs. _

_Sabah hissed back, standing his ground as hair stood up on his back. The predator rushed in for Sabah. The cheetah scrapped his massive claws across the eye of the leopard, the hunter pawing and grating back, snapping at Sabah's rear end and tail. _

_As the battle continued, Chenzira fell to his foreleg's knees in exhaustion and rested on the sand spiraled out in bleeding lesions. Yahshi crawled towards her dying horse. The lead big cat rushed and crouched in front of the horse, hissing at Yahshi who flew back. Slowly she was being circled. The cat panted with his muzzle enveloped in sand grains and dried blood, its green eyes never leaving Yahshi's. He sprang into the air to strike and slay the princess. _

_For her last prayers, she prayed someone to save her right now. She shut her eyes tightly and cried out, "ATEMU!!_

_Yahshi's Millennium Bangle took on a brilliant blaze as so did the eye of Horus on her forehead. _

_Before her life flashed before her eyes, the leopard's attack was canceled. Two flashing hooves came out of no where, and struck the leopard's stomach, bowling the cat to the ground. _

"…_Wha?" Yahshi looked up and saw a stranger perched on a white horse with a gray mane. The rider's face was forever shadowed._

"_Be gone you wild beasts!" he shouted with his large horse scaring off the injured leopard and leaving Sabah to chase it as far as possible. _

_Chasing off the lead leopard worked, but the second one was done harassing Chenzira, and decided to go for the new rider. But this familiar stranger was able to command his horse to hammer its hind legs' hooves into the core of the cat's skull. _

_The hunter fell to the ground lifeless and bleeding eternally from its cracked cranium. _

_Yahshi gasped in horror at the dead cat beside her. She stared at the silhouetted rider in antagonism. "You didn't have to kill it! You could've just scared it off!" _

"_Well, I'm sorry, but there was nothing left to do but just that." His voice was astonishingly deep but in such a superbly soft way. "I never meant to intentionally kill an innocent animal driven by its nature." _

_Yahshi blinked, somehow knowing this character. She retorted back to anger. "J-Just who in Egypt do you think you are anyway?!"_

"_I think I'm the one who pretty much saved you from becoming apart of the earth's soil, my Princess." _

"_Well I didn't need saving, I can take care of myself!!" she looked away with a last sentence of sass. "I don't need some male worker protecting my hind."_

_The rider jumped down from his horse in chuckles, and began walking over to Yahshi who still looked away. He kneeled down in front of her and smiled. _

_He turned her chin so she could see his eyes._

_Yahshi looked away immediately, eyes closed tightly in frustration and fear as she bit her lip, eyebrows quivering when she felt his fingers run through her hair strands. Just as she brought herself to lash out with a firm palm, he caught her wrist in mid-slap. _

"…_I heard you call out my name, Princess Yahshi Kamilah Shani." _

_Yahshi gasped to who she was staring at._

_**(Song, "Eternity" – Record of Lodoss War Soundtrack – Opening Theme)**_

_The crown circlet situated on his forehead, gold armlets, long purplish cape, dangling earrings, and such a solemnly handsome face with the eyes that reminded her of amethyst jewels…could only belong to, _

"_Atemu…" she melted into the bare sand, not even able to speak his name without losing breath. And how he had changed…she had to swallow her heart down into her chest again._

_**Caught by the moonlight…**_

_**A silent wind of love is shimmering in between**_

_Atemu's formal stare was replaced with this gentle kindness. "You say my name like a prayer…"_

_She tendered her eyes as her heart couldn't seem to settle down. "Oh thank Ra I found you..."_

_**Oh what a night for dreams**_

_**A night for destiny**_

_Quickly she blinked when she saw the gentle fall of his eyelids as he smiled at her. She turned her back with her face overthrown with hotness and her eyes shut tightly. "Ah, what are you doing here in the first place?!" _

_Atemu looked at her oddly as she hid her face. "I made a promise to you that we would see each other again, Omorose…don't you remember?"_

_**Others are sleeping**_

_**So we're the only ones who hear the music in the air**_

_**The magic you weaved**_

_**Just for me**_

_Yahshi nodded her head wildly, entire face hotter than bonfire. It was so perfect the way he said the name he gave her, so harmonizing, just to hear him say it gave her chills each time. He made it sound so beautiful, even when he'd say her own name; she felt praise in a good way. "Of course I do, I just…" she held in her yelp when his hand set on her forehead. _

"_What's wrong with you? You're all red in the face…and you're acting strange." Atemu raised an eyebrow. "Are you ill with rabies?" _

_She breathed a heated breath. "N-No, I'm fine…" she looked away from his hand that hastily departed from her forehead. "…It's just…I feel like…my dreams have finally come true…" _

_Yahshi smiled warmly, suddenly pausing at realization of what she just said. She bowed her head as her bangs shadowed over her eyes. "…I-I mean I…Atemu…what I mean is…s-see, O-Oh Ra…"_

_He watched widely as she tried to dig out the words she couldn't. _

"_Sa-Ra…" she looked back up at him. It was hard to just keep eye contact for at least a few seconds with Atemu, let alone speak to him. _

_He waited patiently for her answer, big amethyst eyes gazing into her very soul with the light wavering like distant ghost apparitions. Even his look was gentle, and not so solemn…but…heart warming._

_She could've sworn she saw this twinkle in his eyes as he stared at her like that. Yahshi couldn't contain the rapid feelings of her heart, moreover she was suffocating. She shrank back…terrified of what she was feeling._

_**May eternity last us forever**_

_**My fate is in your arms tonight**_

_**The love is shining in your eyes**_

_**Will you be mine, tomorrow?**_

_She shook her head and tried to hide her face once more. "Oh please don't stare at me that way!" _

_His lips turned into a distant line as his eyebrows rose higher. "Why not? What way am I staring…?"_

_Yahshi continued to look down. "I don't know…just a way that makes me feel bizarre…"_

"_I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable…" he put a hand on her shoulder with an apologizing smile, making her jump slightly._

_Why was she being so paranoid!? _

_Her eyes went soft when they stared back into his beautiful amethyst ones so soul-capturing. Yahshi reached out her hand, then drew it back from him, unsure whether to even touch such a god or not. He'd be like heaven to touch if she could. Without more delay, she suddenly threw her arms around him in a freed breath of relief. "Oh Atemu…" she buried her face into his shoulder, eyebrows quivering to resist her closed eyelashes to fill up with dampness. She clutched his cape, feeling the warmth against their body heat._

_**A Touch of enchantment**_

_**I tremble when you hold me close this way**_

"…_There was no one I thought more of than you when we were forbidden to ever see each other again. I couldn't go on…not seeing you ever again like that. I would've died of grief and unbearable emptiness, and then to know we were going to become enemies..." She huddled her shoulders and felt his superiority over her when his brawny arms enfolded around her body._

_**I'm drawn like a moth**_

_**To a flame**_

"_I know…I'm not too thrilled. I don't want to fight over dominance with you, but my people…I don't want them to go against me either. But really, did you miss me that much, Yahshi? I feel your tears on my cape…"_

"…_With the set of each new sun and light of each old moon…" she smiled when she could feel his heart beating against hers at the same pace, beating as one. "I missed to hear you say my name…like someone actually cared for my thoughts…"_

_He bowed his head over hers as his bangs fell over his eye through the profile of his face. Gently he held her by the shoulders to stare into her amber eyes that reminded him of soothing rich honey. The lights in her eyes trembled with emotion and some fear or worry. There was something about those eyes that seemed alluring in ways unimaginable._

_**My heart will never more be free**_

_**A part of you I'll always be**_

_**From now until**_

_**Eternity**_

"_Well looks like destiny wanted us back together, no matter how forbidden…" Atemu stroked some of her strands._

"…_Why were you out here, Atemu?"_

_The Pharaoh lifted the chain around his neck, showing her his dangling Millennium Puzzle. He took her wrist to see the lovely Millennium Bangle glimmering in the moonlight. "It has to do with our Millennium items I suppose. I felt an urgent rush the minute my Puzzle activated…it was strange, but it seems our items are somehow connected. They tell when the other is in danger."_

_Yahshi leaned in close to him, eyes dazzling. "So then, you came out all this way just to rescue me? All the way to the Valley of the Kings?" a soft breeze blew her strands of bronze._

"_Of course, why wouldn't I?"_

_In sadness her eyes found the sand. "Because…I'm not worth such savior…"_

_He became serious. "Didn't I promise I'd never let anything bad happen to you? I vowed with my life to protect you, Yahshi. And I don't mean to break it…" he tucked away a long thread of hair from her face and behind her ear, earning her smile._

_**Waves of emotion**_

_**I know this is where I want to be**_

_**Locked in your arms**_

_**With no key**_

"_Sa-Ra…you've vowed that ever since we were little." she could feel the blood burn into the skin of her face. "…I'm not all that important to risk a life o—"_

_Atemu shut her up with his two fingers. "You don't understand how valuable and important you are, Yahshi, especially to me. You mean more to me than Egypt, Omorose Princess…and I will not war against you…"_

_Yahshi at first seemed speechless. She couldn't help but look down in such shyness to the soft tone in his voice, yet so profound and comforting._

_**Sweet fascination**_

_**You whisper soft and low**_

_**And I am swept…away**_

"…_Atemu…you are…" she looked back up to him, feelings brought back to her every time she got to catch that glimpse of a flicker in his orbs. "Too perfect."_

_Silence._

"…_You've changed."_

_She jerked her head up. "What?"_

"_You've changed." He repeated, raising his eyebrows. "Why my Omorose Princess," he smirked at her, making her blush once again. "Your beauty's grown with each new moon of passing time."_

_He was right of course; in her silk white and sleeveless Egyptian dress with the gold band around her waist, a gold necklace used as a low neck collar, long and wide earrings, and the crown circlet around her forehead. Egyptian women were known to have a perfect figure of all cultures._

_The princess cocked her head and blinked. "You've changed a lot too, Atemu." She giggled. "You're handsomer than natural all of the sudden. You have the look as if more weighs on your shoulders and the world depends on you, or staring into the distance as if seeing something no one else can…and so strong inside, but still, makes you seem so frighteningly handsome. You seem…so fearless." She pulled off a smile with her eyes lifted closed upwards in great kindness as the pink streaked across her face. _

_His eyes seemed wide as a rare but barely visible blush grazed his face. He cleared his throat and stood up. "…What…what brings you out here anyhow?"_

_She blushed a little before giving him her answer. "You…" she whispered as she stood up beside him._

_**D**__**eep as the ocean**_

_**With every stare**_

_**I'm deeper in your spell**_

_Atemu wore a sort of sad but relieved smile on his face. "You snuck out again, didn't you?" _

"_But only because I wanted to see you again..."_

_**Love me tonight**_

_**You are my one desire**_

_Her black horse, Chenzira snorted as he stayed on the ground, rolling his eyes and flipping his tail at this. _

_The Pharaoh mounted his horse and turned to his old friend. "What are we standing around here for? I need to take you back home and out of these lands before my priests arrive."_

"_NO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "I am not going back where rights of leadership are not passed!" her tone was harsh yet trembling, not childish like back then when she whined about not wanting to return home._

_The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow. "But you know the rules of my kingdom."_

"_But you are the King of all Kings of Egypt! You make the rules of your land! Say I am an old friend of yours from old era!"_

"_I can't change all the laws Yahshi, rights between your land and mine are out of hands. If they see you in my kingdom, even we might be turned on by our own people…!"_

"_I don't care! Let them think what they wish to think! Disguise me! I'm not going back to where I came from! I can't stand being there! I can't stand all those stories my parents tell about how sinful or deceiving you are!" her shoulders slumped as she dropped her head, bangs falling over her hidden eyes. "…I don't want to go away from you again! For a thousand years I'd regret this night if I let you take me back…!" _

_Atemu paused in his place at her heartbroken out burst._

"…_I don't want to leave you again…not when you're right here in front of me…" she chewed on her bottom lip. "Please let me come with you to your kingdom, Atemu! It's not the same without you…even though we only met once, I felt like we've known each other since the dawn of time. I want…I want to stay with you…"_

_**A captive of your tight grip**_

_**Love is whispered through your lips**_

_Pause._

"_I just want to be with you…Atemu." she bit her bottom lip harder as her bangs hid her saddened eyes away while she straightened up. "…That's all I want… you …I just want you…___

_**L**__**ove me again tonight**_

_**You are my one desire**_

_**Waves of emotion**_

_**I know this is where I want to be…**_

_A cloak was thrown over her head as she lifted it from her face to question him. _

"_Get on." Atemu said in a bit of demand and seriousness._

_She blinked and blushed, seeing it was his purplish cape/cloak. "You mean you're not going to—"_

"_If you're going to stay at my kingdom you'll need to be in disguise as you wished." He patted the smooth back of his horse and heaved himself on its back. He pulled the reins and rode up in front of her. "Are you coming or not?" his mood had changed to exact solemnity, no smile, no happiness, just demand._

_Yahshi nodded sternly, though he was even more mesmerizing when being firm._

_**I'll never rise**_

_**From the chains**_

_**Of my heart**_

_**I**__n some weakness but spunk, Chenzira lifted his rear from the sand and weakly stood on his legs, at first a bit wobbly. He limped to his owner's side and snorted in the Pharaoh's face to disgust him. _

"_Chenzira!" Yahshi said in a hushed tone. She wrapped herself up in the cloak and set her hands on Chenzira's sloped yet bloody back. _

"_Ride with me instead." _

_She turned to him. "…Why?"_

"_Your horse is hurt, and it can't carry you let alone run."_

_Chenzira shook the sand from his mane as he seemed angered at Atemu, yet yelping in some loss of balance._

"_No, Chenzira, he's right. You're a tough warrior, but you are too injured to carry me across the desert too…you can only carry yourself."_

_A rope was placed around the horse's neck as the other end of it was tied around the other horse. Yet Chenzira didn't seem to mind, as he was busy being occupied to the other horse, which was a mare. _

_Yahshi was helped onto Atemu's horse. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he glanced over his shoulder to see her seated safely._

_**My fate is in your arms tonight**_

_**Will you love me tomorrow?**_

"_Let's get going," he kicked his female horse's sides. "Yah!" _

_As they rode, Yahshi softy rested her head against his back with her eyes gentled. "…If I could only tell you…"_

_**Eternity awaits…**_

_**You and me**_

_**Now that you are here…**_

_They galloped into the night at full speed with Chenzira following along by the tug of the rope._

_Sabah watched them across the desert and sat his rear on the sand, cat calling._

_**We are the spirits of the wind**_

_**Spread our magic wings and fly**_

_**Racing at the speed of light**_

_**Through the bellies and the passages of time**_

_End of Song_

_**Morning Sunrise**_

_A nice sun ray shined through the brick window and bathed the princess in warmth, slightly waking her. Her eyes fluttered open elegantly as she lifted her head from the fur bed with gold lion's legs used to support the bedspread. She stretched out on the bed, awaking from her slumber. She just then noticed she was still in Atemu's cloak. Unusually, she felt breath against her._

"_So the Omorose Princess is finally awake…" she felt the sensation of a humid, deep voice give her chills underneath her skin, yet in a comforting emotion._

_Her eyes gazed up as she realized the Pharaoh beside her, facing her with his palm supporting his temple and the other to her waist as he smirked into her casually. She smiled against her golden hair follicle, until her eyes blinked open wider in sudden thought. She gasped with a warm blush and sat up, getting out of his embrace against the bed. _

"_Oh my Ra!" she shrieked as she looked down on him, seeing the lean yet brawny structure of his bare chest. "Sa-Ra Atemu?!" she held her fist to her mouth, blush out of control. "…What are you doing in the bed? What happened? Am I in my apparitions again?! What happened last night?!" _

_The Pharaoh chuckled huskily as he slowly sat up beside her. "Nothing happened last moon, Yahshi. I was only watching over you while you slept the entire night, that's all, nothing more to you." _

_Her shoulders slumped in ease as her chest deflated. "…Oh…I-I see…" she flinched when he leaned in next to her, her eyes having to be turned away from his exposed chest in embarrassment. Her mind shouting,Oh Ra, oh Ra, oh Ra, oh Ra! _

"…_Did you sleep well…?" he whispered._

_Yahshi nearly gasped when she heard his voice. She opened her mouth to speak, but only closed it and nodded her head in reply. "Y-Yes, Sa-Ra!"_

"_Don't be formal to me, it's alright to just call me what you always did when we were young…I prefer it from you…"_

"_Y-Yes Sa-Ra, I mean Atemu!" she nodded once more, her eyes glancing at her fingers that clutched the bedspread. "…As you wish…" and yet that redness never left her face. _

_The Pharaoh spread a small smile across his face, "Come with me, I want to show you something…" he held out his hand for her. _

_She rested her fingers into his palm as he pulled her up from the bedside. _

_He retrieved his silk robbing top to cover his torso and led her to the windows. They stepped out onto the gold-bricked balcony of his temple to see the sun rise over his beautiful kingdom and all of Luxor. "You've always wanted to see the entire kingdom when we first met, so here it is before you."_

_Yahshi gasped as she let go of his hand and leaned over the edge. "…Atemu it's amazing…" She smiled in harmony as the winds fooled with her playable hair ever so elegantly. They looked out beyond the gold buildings of temples, small towns, and pyramids, and far off above the blue waves of the gentle sea showing off the sun's light against their currents. "You've done so well with your kingdom."_

_Princess Yahshi, who had been enjoying the warmth of the morning breeze, felt those hard yet soft eyes on her. She looked to him, cocking her head. "…Atemu…?"_

"_Hm?" he blinked._

_She smiled bashfully as she looked down as if confused that she forgot her words once their eyes met. "I'm glad we found each other again…"_

_Atemu leaned against the balcony as well, observing the birds flying across their way. "As am I."_

_She stared into his bold face, how strong and striking he's come to be with such a deepened voice. He leveled eyes with her as she quickly looked away with a wheeze. She shut her eyes and gulped all her shyness down, managing to say her thoughts aloud to him. "It was true that…I would always wonder if you had forgotten me, or even thought about me in your spare time…" she traced a finger along the brick._

"_Yahshi, you know I'd never forget you, as long as I live, you're always in my memory. And to tell the truth, it was every moment of my time, I found myself thinking of you…even in the most urgent times…your name haunted me." his expression showed inspiration in his eyes as they heavily stared afar, seeing things no one else could in the morning sun of Ra. _

"…_Really?" _

"_Mmhm," Atemu nodded with a thinned smile. He closed his eyes, smirking now. "…I don't know why, but…I think you put a spell over me ever since we met," he explained laughingly. "You should've told me you were an Enchantress." _

_She melted at their closeness when they were all of the sudden facing each other. She gulped as she felt tremors in her heart when she gazed into his amethyst eyes that contained her world…_

"…_Sa-Ra Atemu…?" she barely whispered._

_Without any hesitation or nervousness, and just confidence, "Yes?" _

"_There's…something that I need to—" _

"_Sa-Ra?!" the head consul called. Their hair was a straight jet black, trimmed bangs in front of the forehead, with deep, rich brown skin, and their eyes were an unusual ruby. "SA-RA ATEMU!!" she rushed into the room the Pharaoh and Yahshi were in. "Sa-Ra I—"_

_The two love birds turned their heads to face her. _

_The girl put her hands on her knees and bowed in her white gown in respect. "Forgive me, my Lord, but a few guards from Cairo are here to speak with you…" _

_Yahshi's eyes turned a shade of fear. "…Oh no…" she clutched her companion's shoulder._

_Atemu looked to her in an assuring face. "It's alright, I won't let them take you…as you wished—Maibe shall take care of you until I return."_

_Yahshi nodded as she swallowed a lump in her throat. Afraid to let him go, she whispered into his ear, "…Be careful…"_

_The Pharaoh headed out of her room with a final glance at her in the corner of his eye, to where she caught it, and right there she knew he would be fine…_

_For a moment there was silence between Yahshi and Maibe._

_Yahshi roamed to the bed and sat down on its warmth, eyes staring down in a saddened light as if worried and afraid. _

"_You're Princess Yahshi Kamilah Shani of Cairo, aren't you? Daughter of Nephthys and Seth, second sister of Anubis and Horus…?" Maibe took a few steps closer to her. "Yes, it's you alright…"_

_Yahshi nodded sadly. "With guilt and being kept here as a burden, it is me…" _

"…_I've heard rumors about your beauty, and for once gossips were right…" The consul's eyes crossed hers, giving the princess a terrible vibe. _

"…_Maibe, please don't tell anyone what you've seen here today…"_

"…_My lips are hushed…" the girl bowed in respect. "By the way, that horse of yours has been taken care of. He's being held at the bank of the Nile River." She grinned wider with her eyes blazing at the sight of Yahshi's Millennium Bracelet. "You have…a Millennium item?" _

"_Oh…" Yahshi looked to her bracelet and raised it into the sunlight. "Yes, it was a gift from my mother." She stood up. "Um, excuse me," She got ready to leave the room. "Oh and thank you again, Miss Maibe for your trust..." Yahshi ran toward the exit. _

_Maibe kept a disturbing stare on her as the girl left. "Goodbye…"—she grinned evilly—"…Princess…" her eye turned into an eclipse pupil of murderess red. _

_The princess rushed along the pathway to the Nile River location. There sat her horse on the riverbank. "Chenzira!" _

_The horse rose up from his sitting stance and galloped toward his owner. _

_Yahshi latched onto her horse's neck as she patted his back thickly. She noticed the white bandages wrapped around his back neck. "Thank Ra you're safe, Chenzira!" _

_The horse ran back and forth from Yahshi to an open field. _

"_What is it?"_

_Chenzira galloped back to her with a pretty white mare beside him, both horses circling her. _

"_Isn't that Atemu's horse, Shasta? Well isn't this a surprise. You found yourself a girlfriend." Yahshi laughed at Chenzira's new finding as he nipped at his mate's mane. _

_After long passing minutes of boredom, she sat up against a nearby tree. Chenzira stood behind her, and flared his nostrils against her long blonde hair. "You just want attention." She stroked his mane and quickly the horse plopped down beside her. _

_Shasta drunk her fill of river from the bank of its waters as Chenzira was busy getting spoiled._

"_You're the only one I can tell this to…so I'll just flat out say it, Chenzira." She pulled her horse's head to her as she whispered into its twitching ear. "...I'm in love with King Atemu of Egypt…" _

_Shasta snorted out her water all of the sudden, choking on her full gulp as she swung her head. Chenzira just snorted out his disapproval. _

_Yahshi leaned against the tree bark as she stared up into the clouds. "I didn't know why at first and how it could happen… but Inyahlay was right all along. Now, to see how he's become the man he is already, makes me see this side to him I've never seen." _

_Chenzira's eyeballs roamed away as his right ear bent back in a turn, a curious and high-pitched neigh escaping him as she continued._

_She put her hand against her forehead as she drifted off into her words of purity. "He's different now…just somehow. He's the kind of person who can make me feel safe even in darkness as along as he's right there beside me. It's so crazy that something in my life…is actually better than a dream: Atemu." She closed her eyes, intensity of her blush fevering her as she thought of him, even her words were so silent they seemed distant and were only whispered. "Just to think of him…is…"_

_Suddenly she jumped when she heard some movement nearby. "…Soldiers of Cairo!" she hid behind the wide tree's trunk as they split up into single groups for the princess. "…They've spotted my horse!" she looked behind the trunk, seeing that they were gone. _

_Yahshi tripped as she quickly ran towards the Luxor Temple, covering herself in Atemu's cloak. In a moment's notice she was nearing the gold walls of the chambers. She opened the heavy doors, seeing guards of Cairo all around. Yahshi stared into the dark steps of the Bennu tomb, gasping as she remembered this is where she had been taken away…_

_A hand grabbed her shoulder. _

_She jumped and spun around, gripping the shirt of the person in fear. _

_Atemu. _

_He seemed just as surprised as her. "YAHSHI, what are you doing here?" _

"_Why are my soldiers surrounding your kingdom?!"_

"_They're doing one last investigation before leaving…it was an agreement." _

"_But Atemu—"_

"_Don't worry," he held her shoulders solemnly. "They're not going to find you, just stay here until they leave. If I asked them to go right away, they would be suspicious and look about secretly. You'll be safe with me…" _

_She blinked when his eyes became softened gemstones of amethyst. She nodded and breathlessly spoke, "Sa-Ra—er, Atemu…?"_

_He blinked. "Mm?"_

_Her cheeks tainted pinker. "…There's something I…I want to say to you now…" _

_His eyes opened more as he lifted his eyebrows. _

"_I think I've…wanted to say it, since we were eleven years of age…"_

"_Well what is it that you want to say?" _

"_Atemu, I'm…I…" she shut her eyes tightly. "I'm in lo—"_

_He suddenly covered his hand over her mouth and hid her behind a wall in the dark corner as the guards burst open the heavy doors of the temple-tomb. "Shhh…keep quiet." he hushed her as he uncovered her mouth, his eyes intensely following every step the guards took down the stairs…_

_Yahshi turned her eyes away with the tears flying from her damp eyelashes. She tightly hugged Atemu, never letting him go. "If they take me back…" she whispered lowly and muffled into his chest. "…I'll never get to see your face ever again…until war."_

_Atemu blinked in shock of how much she wanted to be with him and only him. He half-smiled and put his hand on her head. "…Well then, I can't let them take you away from me, now can I…my Omorose?" _

_She looked into his gentle orbs in stoppage of tears._

_They stayed inside the temple/tomb until the guards had done their bidding and left the lands. Both sat in the darkness, erect from each other, listening as guards passed the tomb grounds._

_Atemu looked to Yahshi with furrowed eyebrows of confusion. "Tell me what you were going to say…"_

_She stared at the bricks built beneath her. Her eyes flattened sadly. Slowly, Yahshi shook her head. "I…I can't tell you anymore."_

_His shoulders slumped. "Yahshi—"_

"_I don't want to tell you anymore!" she choked out, never meeting eyes with him. "You'd frown down on me forever if I did…" her lips quivered as tears rolled over them. "…I can never tell you…please, don't make me…" _

_He only watched as she said this, feeling confused and surprised. "…Omorose Yahshi…" he frowned, crawling near to her. "You can tell me anything," he reached out his hand to touch her face. "And you know this. So why do you cower before me?"_

"_No, I can't tell you this…" she turned away immediately, making him withdraw his hand. _

_Slowly he closed in on her; her back scooted further against the back of the wall as she couldn't dare herself to even look his way. He neared her closer until his lips were beside her ear. Atemu's lips curved into that small line with his eyes closed, his arm finding its way around her to force her close into him. "You're wrong…good friends share each other's secrets and fears, no matter how uncomfortable they may seem. Something's bothering you…and I want to know so I can help you. Do you understand?" _

_Yahshi's eyes were wide as she felt a Pharaoh's hot, daring voice rumble in her eardrum. She exhaled as her eyelids dropped until she felt tired enough to close them. Her head rested against his shoulder blade peacefully. After the silence, she spoke. _

"…_I don't want to tell you now…I'll tell you, when…when the time's right."_

_Atemu only nodded, watching her every move. "That's fine with me..." _

_She could feel that heat against her face once more as they stayed in one another's embrace. The moment he was about to let go, she grasped him tighter and begged in a whisper to never let go…_

_Soon after, the guards came back to the Pharaoh for more talk, or moreover demand. Yahshi was able to sneak away and back to the riverbank to make sure they hadn't taken her horse back to Cairo._

_After Atemu had confirmed to the guards they had scared and roamed his land enough, they left immediately._

_He returned back for Yahshi, thoughts angering and confusing his mind. He thought about how it was wrong to allow her to come into his kingdom, knowing it would cause a ruckus sometime around. To let her stay here was foolish, and too risky of him. It wasn't going to resolve this war solution, but in common sense thinking make it worse. So then…why did he let her stay? Was it because he just wanted to share old times again? _

_He bent down by the flowing river and dipped his finger tips in the water to cool off his mind._

_The Pharaoh stood up, suddenly freezing in his place. His eye widened as he stared into Yahshi's direction, witnessing her grace as she laughed and leaned against her horse.Why does my body feel…so warm all of the sudden? It was like an automatic shock that flowed through his body and set his emotions on firelight. He bowed his head low as he continued walking.The reason I let her stay here is because, it's because…I've fallen through that word called love, isn't it? _

"_With who…?"_

_With her_

"_Who do you love?"_

…_Her …I've fallen through love for Princess Yahshi Kamilah Shani. He softened his violet orbs, his mind chuckling mentally. …Ever since I was eleven… He felt his lips, remembering when she gave him a smooch on the lips all those years back. He remembered having the feeling of her soft lips brush his so gently, till this day he can recall his exact thoughts of her after that. _

… _He was infatuated…with the princess of his enemy…_

_Slowly the pharaoh approached her, startling her as she lay there on the grass. "Oh, it's you!" she gave him a surprised look, saying his name without breath. "A-Atemu…don't sneak up on me, PLEASE."_

"…_I don't know if they've gone for good, but I'm sure they'll be back with more of your mother's orders..." Atemu cocked his head quizzically as she said nothing._

_Yahshi was staring at him in a feverish gaze._

"…_What is wrong?"_

"_What?! Oh…n-no…uh…I'm fine on this end, just dozing here and there." She quickly looked down to her fingers._

_Atemu lied down next to her, facing her and looking directly into her amber gaze. Yahshi felt her heart turn to mush when his voice called to her. "Is the time right for you to tell me now? I'm eager to know…" He raised his eyebrows. _

_Her eyes sparkled as she stared into his in passion. "It's just that I…" _

"_That you what?" _

_She sat up abruptly from nervousness. "…No, f-forget it…"_

"_Yahshi," Atemu sat up in impatience. "You promised to tell me sometime around. NOW'S the only time we'll get a peaceful moment to ourselves. Don't turn it down." _

"_If I did, then would you hate me forever because I'm risking a good thing?" _

"_Now THAT'S just hysterically silly." he smiled at her reassuringly, brows creased back. "You and I know very well I'm not in the position to hate you." _

_Yahshi twirled her fingers around the grass blades nervously, ripping them. "If you truly want to know what I'm thinking…then," _

_Atemu set his elbow on his knee as he urged her gently to finish, "Go on."_

"_My parents…today, I was supposed to get married by a random prince my parents would arrange…"_

_He furrowed his eyes. "…Force you into marriage…"_

"_Mm-hm. And…and I came to you, the day before my marriage was going to be proposed." She looked up into his brilliant eyes. "Atemu, do you know why of all people…I ran away to see you the day before my wedding arrangement?"_

_He gave her a mystified look. _

_Her eyes looked back into her lap. "…Ever…ever since we had been away…all I ever did was dream of you, Sa-Ra. You were always on my mind, just you, no one and nothing else but you. It made me wonder if, you ever whispered my name warmly every night into your pillow like a distant sensation in the night air, like I would…if you would ever dreamt of the day we met again, and the day you could just say 'I love you' to me, like I would…if you ever imagined you were staring into my eyes like nothing else mattered, and everything felt right in your heart, like I would…" _

_Yahshi looked back up into his eyes and softened her own. "Sa-Ra Atemu…I want to make my dream come true, I've waited so very long to say…I've fallen through love for you…Atemu. And you're the only one I'd ever want to take my hand in marriage." Without hesitation, she captured his lips. _

_Her eyelashes rested on her cheeks as the kiss seemed to last forever, Atemu's eyes widened. When time passed his arms found their way around her, closing his eyes and giving into her emotions._

_When she drew back in amazement of her boldness, she touched her lips to feel powerful heat against them. What a dream come true…to finally kiss the Pharaoh of her heart. _

_He then pressed her down onto the grass with him over her. The only thing that could escape Atemu's lips was, "And to think, I thought you never felt that passion for me …" his smile spread as he kissed the side of her jawline. "…Be my Thema, Omorose…be mine, and mines only…and I'll marry you just like I promised when we were young…"_

_Yahshi managed to reply breathlessly before their lips locked tenderly. "I do…"_

_**Nightfall**_

_She stood on the edge the balcony, seeing the moon raised high above the sand mountains and ocean tides. The cold dry winds entangled with her hair as her depressed glance fell upon all of Luxor. Gently under the winds she sighed, turning back to room of the King of these lands, her Pharaoh, her friend, her love. _

_Yahshi approached the Pharaoh's bed, seeing the beauty of its decorative sheets of fur, the carved king of lions' head as the front of it made of gold. Such a wide bed of royalty for the praised King of Egypt. _

_Yahshi's eyes felt distant lights shine against her pupils as she gazed down on the royal bed. She inhaled a painful and strangled breath as her shoulders lifted, her chest inflating. She wanted to hold tears back from falling._

_**(Song - "We Shout by Tatu" ) **_

_**  
**__**I will for-get my…**_

_**Dreams**_

"_Princess…?" _

_She jerked her head up with tears flinging from her frightened eyes. "…Atemu…" _

_He stood in the doorway of the bricked room. "Or should I be calling you, Thema Yahshi of Giza as of now?"_

_Yahshi struggled to smile, shaking her head. "No, you don't have to address me after royalty, just call me what you always did…I prefer it from you." She mocked slightly._

_Atemu's lips curved into a smile. He approached her. "Then Omorose Yahshi of Egypt it is…"as soon as he got a better look into her eyes, his smile no longer remained. "…What is it…?" he stood before her. "What's wrong?" gently his hands held her arms, trying to look into her eyes, afraid. "Do you doubt something?"_

_It took all of Yahshi's will to stare into his eyes with strength as she lifted her chin high. She parted her lips to speak uneasily. "…They're coming back for me…"_

_**Nothing is what it seems**_

"_I know this…but if Cairo and my kingdom dare to stop us from loving one another, then let them try…"he slowly leaned into her to kiss, but she turned away, his face becoming more worried._

"_Atemu, I gave up everything to stand here before you, to hold you in my arms, kiss your lips sacredly like this, but I also gave up my mother's trust…" Yahshi's ocher eyes padlocked with his again. "…I have disowned my land, my people, all for love…all for you…my King." she held his face between her fingers, her eyes searching his daring ones. "…I'm taking a big risk now, but I couldn't let this chance slip away just like that…I couldn't go another day in fear and remorse if I left you tonight …I'd rather stray the sands out of Egypt, walk into the tides of the ocean and drown…" her eyes looked down in shame. "…If only my mother could understand…"_

_**You say it so com-plex**_

_**That you could press for less**_

_**We never bothered**_

_**Telling each other**_

_**What we were bound to**_

_**Guess…**_

_Atemu's hands had found their way around her waist, pulling her close against him. "The War's changed…in all the years of wars, Kings of Kings fought them for power, for glory, for freedom, for greed…love is the best reason two lands could ever war for…" he breathed against her cheek as he whispered sweet remedies to her heart. "…You know I love you desperately, you know I want to be with you for the rest of my years, to hold you in my arms before every sunrise and after every nightfall, but Cairo would behead me if I even looked your way…Cairo can not stop me or you from our wed tomorrow, nothing they do can stop us…and if we can't be together in this lifetime, then we'll be together in the next…"_

_**I will effect you**_

_**I will protect you**_

_**From all the crazy schemes**_

_She closed her eyes and set her hands on his shoulder blades, his arms embracing her to him. "…Atemu," she smiled lightly, speaking muffled under his silk robe. "…you're such a fool in so many ways…but I'm an even bigger fool for letting the will of love get the best of me…" _

_He parted from their embrace and searched her eyes lovingly. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" _

"_Who knows of our proposed marriage?" _

"_I explained it to the loyal priests of mine, to an old friend Mana, and my most trustworthy consul, Jahzera. My people will know of it tomorrow morning…"_

_**You traded in your wings**_

_**For everything free-dom**_

_**Rings…**_

_She captured his lips tenderly, their kiss missed when she released. "…It's a big step… isn't it?" she opened her eyes to see his. "…What do you think your father would've thought about this…?"_

"_My father is a very understanding man. He would've understood our passion, somehow…" _

_Yahshi smiled again and slipped away from his hands as she headed out for the balcony, eying him in a glance. She looked over the edge and gazed beyond the Temples, and over the deserts._

_**You never left me**_

_**You never neglect me**_

_**See what this feel-ing**_

_**Means…?**_

_Atemu joined her. "You wonder what your mother thinks of your run away."_

"…_I can only imagine the disappointment and betrayal she feels right now…my father never cared of my emotions, so he must think of this as an outrage against the will of Ra. They're not happy together, not cooperative either, and…I don't know if my mother ever knew the feeling of love, and she might not understand ours because of it…" _

_Atemu stroked the back of her long hair, smiling adoringly at her. "I think your mother understands perfectly, but only wants what is right for you and for your kingdom…"_

_**Everything that**_

_**You feel**_

_**Is everything that**_

_**I feel**_

_Yahshi turned to him, suddenly smiling in the stare of his eyes. She closed her eyes as he leaned into her, preparing for another warm kiss. Suddenly his eyes opened to her when he saw the horrified look on her face the moment her Millennium Bracelet began to shine._

"…_The scamper of hooves is bringing them closer…" she gasped as she turned to the desert._

_**So when we dream**_

_**We shout**_

_"SA-RA ATEMU!" one priestess alarmed, seeing the Pharaoh and his soon to be Queen at the balcony. "Soldiers of Cairo, they've invaded the entrance of Luxor Temple!" _

_Yahshi's eyes widened as a large horn blew its alarm to the citizens of the city, sounding off loudly. Both Atemu and Yahshi looked over the edge of the balcony once again to see a pattern of horsemen gallop around Luxor in a line. _

"…_Oh no…" Yahshi whispered. "…they couldn't have…"_

_**Going through dangers**_

_**Needing a savior**_

_**Will there be some-one **_

_**There..?**_

"_Soldiers snuck around and killed the guards of the entrance, secretly entering through the walls of the Luxor Temple!" the priestess informed. "We've already got most of them on the loose…my Sa-Ra, do you want us to use the spirits to destroy the intruders?"_

"_No, don't attack with them!" Atemu demanded immediately. "Prepare our soldiers for battle…"_

"_Atemu," Yahshi gripped his shoulder. "Look ahead!" _

_He looked back to the deserts, eyes widening as he saw more Egyptian soldiers of Cairo gallop across the sands of Giza. "…Was this a midnight assault they planned? A war without even preparation?!" _

"_This is no war…" Yahshi growled as she watched this, now lifting her feet on the wide ledge of the balcony, standing on its edge to see the soldiers below. _

"_What are you doing?!" Atemu yelled up to her as she stood on the ledge of the balcony._

_She observed the men riding for Luxor Temple. "…It's an ambush…they can't take on the army of Giza with only sixty men…" she quickly jumped down from the balcony edge and ran back into the room, until Atemu stopped her._

"_Wait! Where are you going now?!" _

"_If they see me, they'll halt their attack!" Yahshi turned to run again, but his grasp on her arm did not loosen. _

"_No, if you do that you'll only be captured to be sent home again!" _

"_Atemu, I wouldn't let them touch me, I have to protect your kingdom from further harm! I will not let this war start because I'm here!" _

"_Then let me come with you!"_

_**Every-thing that you**_

_**Feel**_

_**Is every-thing that**_

_**I feel**_

"_Come with me…?" Yahshi faced him now. "Atemu, they're likely to spear you the moment they see the white of your eyes!"_

"_I'll go fighting, and I will not let them take you away from me for time's eternity!" Atemu grabbed her arm, not harshly, but to draw her to him slowly. "Let me come with you, PLEASE…" he whispered._

_Yahshi examined the purple of his eyes widely, softening her own, and then kissing his lips affectionately. She released with the smack of lips, breathing against his as she spoke, "…As you said, if we can't be together in this lifetime, then we will in the next…we will be together either way, Sa-Ra." She then moved back from him, heading for the exit as he let his guard down the moment she kissed him._

"_YAHSHI!!"_

_**So when we dream…**_

_**We shout…**_

_**(End of Song)**_

_She heard his calls echo throughout the Luxor Temple as she made her way to the staple, seeing her black stallion and clutching his reins as he stood on his hind legs. "Come, Chenzira! We must go!" she jumped onto her wild horse's sloped back, and kicked his sides as he sped off into the night. _

_The black horse was like a black speck galloping across Egypt as it approached the sixty horsemen farther ahead of them. Yahshi leaned forward as she squinted while sand flew from the earth, her yanking her reins for her horse to ride faster. "Chafulumisa!" _

_Chenzira's legs took longer gallops as he panted harder once again, speeding across the deserts like a black bullet. _

_Suddenly Chenzira was stopped in mid-gallop as his head swiveled to the side, his cries wild screams before he collapsed into the sand, head first as his entire body flipped over, Yahshi flying through the air. _

_She was thrown into the earth, her body covered in grains. She coughed and choked, seeing the black horse a few feet away buried in the gold sands. She limped to her horse, falling onto the ground because of a twisted ankle, and was lowered to crawling to him. She watched as Chenzira lifted his head from the grains, his hoarse neighs drowning out as his head fell back into the sand. When she got near him, she realized the long arrow pierced deep into his front and upper leg, bleeding red all over the grounds. _

"…_Chenzira…" she whimpered beside her horse while he panted roughly, his wide eye blinking. _

_Yahshi turned to the soldiers who neared her, their arrows positioned. She looked behind her, seeing the soldiers of Giza gallop towards her._

_**Luxor Temple**_

"_Sa-Ra, you cannot do this! Forgive me for my words, my King, but you're an even bigger fool to go out into the face of sixty men from Cairo with no defense power, let alone marry daughter of the Gods!" The priestess, Isis, warned him._

_Atemu mounted his white horse as he pulled the reins to the left. "Yahshi's caught between the middle of the battle; she'll be killed before the two sides even clash! I will not let her be harmed, I vowed it as a solemn promise to her and to the Gods!" _

"_But Sa-Ra!!" Isis shouted as he rode out of Luxor. "…It's a trap…" she whispered what she was trying to mention to him. _

_Atemu's strong horse galloped powerfully through the soldiered horsemen of his land and to the front of the few men, seeing one horsemen get to Yahshi before the others, and seize her, who did not go without a fight. Atemu saw this, and felt a deep rage boil within him._

_His eyebrows wrinkled down on his forehead in anger as he kicked the sides of his horse harder. "GIVE HER BACK TO ME!!" he shouted across Egypt. _

_Yahshi paused with her strands of hair fallen messily all over her face. "ATEMU!!" she gasped, running to him until she was yanked back._

_The Pharaoh did something he never even touched; he pulled out his sword, the sword of the Kings, and held it to the Gods in anger as he approached his enemy. "LET GO OF HER NOW!" _

_Quickly the man managed to hull her up onto his brown horse, jerking the reins to the right and speeding back into the group of horsemen. _

_Three arrows shot into the skull of Atemu's horse, his animal falling limp to the ground. He crawled over the body of his dead horse, and reached out for his sword buried in the earth, until one man kicked his hands away…_

_Atemu looked up in defeat, his eyebrows never leaving the hatred glare…_

_**Temple of Cairo**_

_Pharaoh Seth glanced at his queen from his throne, her eyes never turning to his. He narrowed his own, and watched ahead of him as the soldiers kneeled before him. _

"_My King, with permission…" one soldier spoke._

"_You may speak." Seth bellowed. _

"_We found the son of past Sa-Ra Akunumkanon, Sa-Ra Atemu of Giza and Luxor Temple. He's being held prisoner in our chambers as we speak."_

"_And our daughter?" the King raised his chin. _

_The soldier lowered his head as his eyes showed his mind searching for the right words to say. "…We found her with him as well…Princess Yahshi of Cairo is with us right now."_

_The Pharaoh held out his hand. "Bring her to me at this moment…" _

"_My love," the queen leaned into him. "You cannot punish her for—"_

"_Silence, Nephthys," he held his hand before her face to hush her. "I will do what must be done for her…I know what is best for my daughter."_

"_You forget that I am the one who birthed her into this world…she is our daughter."_

_They both looked ahead to see Yahshi being dragged to their throne, two soldiers seizing her by the arms. Once she was before her parents, she decided she had enough of her own servants' hostile acts._

"_Release me, or I'll have you whipped for your insolence!!" Yahshi tore her arms out of their grasp, glaring hatefully at them. Her face was marked with grains of dragging sand and blood, her hair wild with faint strands dangling over her face. She faced her parents in anger, biting her bottom lip. _

"_Be gone with you," her father dismissed the guards from the room._

_The stone door was closed loudly behind them and silence filled the air._

"…_I'd like to know," the old Pharaoh stood on his feet. "Just what do you think you were doing riding across the Valley of the Kings and to the land of Giza, into Luxor Temple without permission!! Insane child, have you turned to the other side?!" _

"_MOTHER, YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN LUXOR TEMPLE SIX YEARS AGO!" Yahshi directed her attention to her mother, whose eyes only wandered away in guilt. _

"_Leave your mother out of this! You answer to me!" the Pharaoh shouted hoarsely. "How dare you go behind our backs and betray our people, your family! This is not worthy of royalty, not honor of our kingdom! You have betrayed your place as our prophetess, as our queen, you have betrayed the Gods of Egypt!" _

"_I don't care about honor, or how the Gods will curse me or this family of royalty! I had to see him once more to heal the pain you set between us and HEAL this WAR! I wasn't about to marry some…some nobody from the Land of the Nothings!" _

"_It is tradition, it is law and you will obey them!! You prefer the man who will be fighting us in war?! You prefer to marry the traitor, the deceiving enemy of our people?! This, this dishonorable snake, treacherous demon not worthy of the Kings, that sack of wine of a child, Sa-Ra Atemu!? Have you no honor or respect?!" his bottom lip quivered._

"_YOU KNOW NOTHING OF HIM!!" tears welled in her eyes._

"_HE'S THE HEIR OF THE DARK LORD, THE DARKNESS BEHIND THE EVIL MADE FROM THOSE MILLENNIUM ITEMS, CHILD OF A MURDERESS KING!!" _

"_FATHER, I LOVE HIM!!" she shouted aloud, her voice trembling. _

_Her father gazed at her with wide eyes._

"_He's everything to me, and not you, mother, Cairo, or even the Gods can tear us apart!! I don't care how dishonorable, how disrespectful, it is to you! You never cared about my feelings for all these years, so I won't care for yours!" her bangs shadowed her eyes. "…We were going to marry after sunrise, embrace passion before the sunset, express melodies of love after nightfall, and keep away from you…from this place, from war…if we are to be the two lovers who begin this war, then so be it…let history crave our names as the traitors who plunge the fatherland into war…but there is nothing you can do to persuade my decision otherwise…I've fallen into love with Sa-Ra Atemu, son of Sa-Ra Akunumkanon…" Her fingers caressed the pendant around her neck. "…In his arms I'd feel safe even in darkness…" _

_The Silence roamed the air for all eternity. _

"…_Is that…how you feel?" the old King whispered._

"…_Yes…"_

"…_I despise you, traitor child…I'll look down on your corpse in pity…" he growled between his teeth, eyebrow twitching. _

_Yahshi looked up at him. "But, Father!"_

"_Seth!!" The queen clutched her husband's arm. "Do not disown our daughter! Do not shatter the girl's dreams!" _

"_Hold your tongue behind your teeth!!" he silenced his queen who cringed. "Head to your room at this moment!! We'll sentence him to death in the morning for kidnapping the daughter of Cairo, and holding her against her will!" _

"_YOU SNAKE!!" his daughter hissed, her eyelashes dampening with crystal tears. "LIAR! KING OF SWINDLES! YOU WILL NEVER BE A TRUE KING OF EGYPT!"_

"…_Go to YOUR ROOM!!" the Pharaoh roared viciously. "GUARDS!!" _

_The soldiers approached Yahshi and seized her by her arms, taking her to her room and guarding the exit just in case she decided to escape._

_**Hours before Morning**_

_**T**__he blue moon shined its light over the shadows of the black sand of Cairo. Aimless clouds passed over the blue night of the stars in silence. _

_Yahshi rested on her bed, her eyes staring up at the ceiling in vicious fear and worry. "…It's all because of me…" her fingers stroked the cartouche pendant nervously. "…He's going to die when the sun rises…" at the time she felt like it was too heavy to breathe a single breath. The air was poison to her now. Her hand trembled tremendously as she clutched the silver pendant. "…Why did I have to be so selfish and run away…?" she let out a smothered breath. "…I put him in danger once again…" a cold stream of tears strolled down her cheeks and past her quivering lips, sliding all the way down her nape. "…I'm so sorry Atemu…" _

_Being paranoid now more than ever, Yahshi shot up with tears flying when she saw a figure come toward her from the entrance, dressed in black drapes of a cloak. _

_The hood was taken off the head of the person as they sat down on her bedside._

"…_Mother?" _

_She looked upon her daughter in absolute shame. "…Forgive me for letting him control your will again…" _

_Yahshi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion._

"…_Your father is a greedy, ignorant man, and will stop at nothing for power." _

"…_It's already something I know, mother…" she shakily told her, trying to sound angry. "But why did you let him?! You both forbid me from seeing him again, you knew I loved him the moment I came back to you from Luxor Temple…you knew I would stop at nothing to come back to him…you knew how I felt about Sa-Ra Atemu for all these years…how I longed to hold him and at least speak to him." _

"_You think Seth cares for love?" her mother strictly asked her. _

_Yahshi's eyes strayed away from her mother as they had fallen to the ground in shame. She held the cartouche pendant from her neck. "Mother, look at this…" _

_Queen Nephthys's eyes widened as she gazed at the name of the Pharaoh engraved in the silver, a symbol of his soul. "…He…he gave you the pendant that would live on in history usually only for the purpose of the Sa-Ra's name…he gave this to you?" _

_Yahshi caressed the necklace against her chest. "…It was so I wouldn't forget him, not history…this is like a piece of his heart given to me for all time." Her eyes closed in thought of him. "…It was all I had left of him…" _

_Nephthys's hand stroked over her daughter's cheek. "…You're just like me when I was your age…" her eyes showed a teary emotion. "…I too wanted to marry the man I loved, another man in a lower position under royalty, for he was a servant…and I was sent to marry Seth of Cairo instead. The guilt and grief never left me the day I turned my back on him, and fell unwilling to the arms of your father…" she sniffled her old memories of sorrow, looking down as her fingers felt the strands of her daughter's hair. "…It was forbidden love…but then when time came to pass, I saw him again, the transferred servant of our temple. You can only imagine how weakened and spellbound I felt every time I would gaze into his eyes for those few passing seconds, his words to me always, 'As you wish…my Thema,' meaning in old lovers' code, 'I love you.' Then there came a time in life when I just couldn't hold it in any longer. It was not long before your father found out how I loved that man more than I loved him, and out of jealousy, after he learnt the servant was carrying my first child, Seth forced me to watch him hang off the ground, and perch his head on a spear for all of Cairo to see and look down on me. I named this child Anubis, and he was killed the day he was born by the royal dagger of Seth. I named the child of Seth and I Horus afterwards, though in the legends of the Gods was originally son of Osiris and Isis. My son Horus, your brother, was murdered by Sa-Ra Akunumkanon's descendant."_

_Nephthys rested her forehead in her palm, trying to erase old depths. "…Our tale is too related to the Gods, and why every person in our family is named after every worshipped deity is like torture, I learnt this now, for it means our future turns out just like their past lives…that is why I named you of beauty, and not a God." a sniffle was heard. "You were the third child of mine, and I am afraid for you…afraid Seth's going to do the same to you, my dear. He is going to spear your heart after sun rise…" _

_The light in Yahshi's orb trembled in pain. "…And that is what I can't let happen…" she gasped hoarsely. "…I'll offer my life to my father instead, I'll warn him that if he even touches Sa-Ra Atemu, he should be prepared to watch my life go by the pierce of the royal dagger he murdered my own brother with…" her hands slowly reached for the gold jeweled dagger on her table, but her mother's hand abruptly struck it down against the stone table. _

"_Don't be foolish!" Nephthys shouted. "There is only one way you can end this war…use what you learnt of being a prophetess of Ra…call upon the spirits and bring you both to salvation." _

_Yahshi's eyes narrowed in sorrow. "…Are you sure you want me to do this…?" _

_Nephthys's trembling hands rested upon her daughter's one hand clutching the pendant given to her. "…I will miss you, my daughter of Ra." She held the sides of Yahshi's head, and kissed her forehead. "…Make sure he takes care of you well…" _

_Yahshi smiled upon her mother._

_**Temple of the Gods**_

_The Princess of Cairo, the traitor her people, lit the thirteenth candle to light the darkness of the golden bricked walls. Her eyes gazed up at the stone craving of a large golden eagle with the body of a lion. The three craving forms of the gods surrounded the walls around her, all staring directly into her soul lifelessly. She slowly kneeled down before the eagle/lion, bowing her head and closing her eyes to honor the stone tablet's respectability. _

_She clasped her hands together, two fingers held up against each other as she softly began to chant her knowledge of a priestess of O' Great Ra. "All the Gods must be respected and feared, thus let Ra-Hoor-Khuit , Hoor-par-kraat("Horus and Ra be praised"). O' Ra netjer-aa neb-pet, ("Ra, the great God, Lord of Heaven") lend me thy guidance to protect my Sa-Ra, to protect the Ruler of the lands of all my heart…" the words filled the boundaries of the air as a dark wind blew out each candle one by one. "O' Great servant of Horus, lend me your strength to protect my Sa-Ra on the behalf of Ra netjer-aa neb-pet…become the Ka of my prophecy." _

_A large growl rumbled the temple walls, causing Yahshi to cringe, squeezing her eyes shut now. _

"…_I beg of you, my Ra, my sun of the heavens, lend me your servant of Horus so I may free my Sa-Ra from the hands of death…" crystal tears filled in her eyelashes as they fell down her chin in fear while dust fell from the ceiling with another growl of disturbance. "…Please!! I have to save him from your sun rays tomorrow morning; I can't let him die in the hands of my father! On your behalf, my Ra! I want to redeem the love I hold dear for Sa-Ra Atemu, son of Sa-Ra Akunumkanon…let me rescue the God of my heart, of my love…please, let me save him!" she continued to keep her head bowed in the presence of the Gods. _

_Suddenly her Millennium Bracelet took on that of a bright glow while the eyes of the stone tablet Gods shone a red light of blaze. The bricked walls released piles of dust from their corners as the temple quaked. _

_Yahshi never did look up, nor did she move. She was prophetess of Ra, and she had to show her strength before her God. _

_Her eyes flew open as she gasped of what was before her, falling backwards._

_**Land of Cairo**_

_A sudden burst of gold bricks exploded from the ceiling of the golden temple as a gold speck rocketed into the black sky. A high-pitched screech deafened all of Cairo as a scream was heard afterwards._

_Yahshi clutched the feathers of her Ka tightly as it spiraled into the clouds, then opening its golden wings and soaring earthwards, screeching louder and causing Yahshi to cringe. _

_Her Ka, Feather of Horus, had the head of an eagle, a crest of feathers on its head as its thick beak parted for more bellows. Its four legs were muscular and in shape of a lion, but with feet as talons. Its tail was fanned tail feathers arched upwards like a dog's. Its powerful and wide wings flapped immensely through thick and passing air as it made a land for earth._

_Yahshi was jerked brutally as the Feather of Horus clumsily skid into the sands and sped across the deserts like a wild untamed beast with its wings still opened widely and beating the air as it galloped. _

_Yahshi winced as it again took flight into the sky once more, flying to the death chambers where the Pharaoh was held prisoner. She squinted and looked ahead over the bird's large skull, seeing the underground cell below. She gritted her teeth and jerked the feathers of her Ka left, making it yelp at the sudden pain and do as obeyed._

_The bird stumbled into the sands, and yanked itself back up with Yahshi nearly falling off its back. It shook off all the grains and reared back before bulleting for the death chambers._

_**Osiris's Chamber**_

_Atemu fiddled and squirmed with black, rusty chains strapped tightly around his waist and wrists, tying him against the statue of the Egyptian Ankh. _

_The Pharaoh leaned forward, choking out a hack as he shut his eyes tightly in pain. He panted breathlessly and gradually opened his eyes, one eye more tiresome than the other. Quickly he gritted his teeth. _

"_ARRRRGHHH!" he roared for the entire kingdom to hear. _

_He yanked forward again after such energy wasted, squeezing his eyes shut as he resisted another holler. "…I'm such a fool…" he whispered hoarsely. "…None of this would've ever become, if I had just listened to my father…now it's too late to go back in time and change everything." He grunted once more. "…I wish I had never met her…then she wouldn't have to face the agony once I'm gone…if we never met…everything would be perfect."_

_He shot his eyes open and watched as the light of his Millennium Puzzle grew bright. "…Omorose…" he whispered under the energy of its power, eye of Ra bored within his forehead in brightness. _

_Suddenly he heard a loud shriek and looked to the cell bars imprisoning him from atop. _

_Unexpectedly, Feather of Horus came crashing down into the gold bars of the chamber, breaking through and walloped into the gold grains of sand in front of Atemu, hissing and screeching as it flipped over off its back, Yahshi beneath its body._

_The Ka kicked up the sands with its talons and lifted itself back on its feet, tossing its head to unleash the pounds of heavy sands in its bullion feathers. _

_Yahshi struggled to lift her body weight up, suddenly trembling with a yelp rising from her throat the minute she realized her wrist was twisted. _

_Her Ka cocked its head, eyelid blinking over its orb. Feather of Horus bumped its beak up against her side, wanting her to lift up. _

_Atemu's eyes grew wider. "…Yahshi!!" _

_She jerked her head up and met teary eyes with him, her face scarred in bruises and blood. White tears had welled underneath her eyes as her pupils quaked tremendously. The icy tears fell before she squeezed them shut and ran towards him. "ATEMU!!" she stumbled after him and immediately wrapped her arms around his beat body, tears streaming down her face now. _

"_What are you doing here?" he asked her gently, breathlessly in astonishment. _

_She sobbed gently to herself, hugging him tighter against her._

_Atemu's eyes gentled as his head hung over her, his lips then kissing against her head, wishing if he were freed he could hold her in his arms. "…Don't cry for me…" he whispered against her hair. He then let out his own breath of disbelief. "…You know you shouldn't even be here, your father—"_

"_My father can't stop me from coming within arm's length of you." Yahshi looked up into his bruised face, more strangled tears welling. Her hand rubbed against his face as she observed his scars. "What have they done to you? Oh that belly dragging serpent of poison, I wish he were dead for what he's done to you …" she whispered in gulps of swallowing her tears. _

"_Yahshi," he smiled feebly. "…I'm fine." _

_She released a gasping breath before she locked his lips between hers in a kiss, gripping the silk of his robe, a kiss of desperation and ease of ache, Atemu the first to strengthen it. _

"…_Atemu, listen…" she breathed between their hot and wild kisses, at some points cutting off her voice of words. "…I have to get you out of here before sunrise…" she whispered against his eardrum as his lips caressed beneath her jaw, nibbling her skin. "…Father is planning to hang you for all Cairo to see when the sun rises…" a few tears rolled down her cheeks as she clutched his shoulders. "…We have to get out of here before the break of sunrise…"_

_Atemu's eyes had softened deeply in care as his head was against hers, feeling the tears that slid down her skin. How he so desperately wanted to ease her pain. By how close they were against each other, he could feel her heart beating against his, but not at the same pace…at a slower pace than his. "…And after we escape…?"_

"_We could run away…" she whispered in hoarse hope. "We could leave here and ride through morning till night, far away from everyone, from everything…" _

"_Yahshi…" he whispered back into her ear. "We can't leave our people, not now…not at this time. Unchain me, and we'll ride back to Giza, where we'll marry, and live as Thema and Sa-Ra of Egypt…let us do what we dream. Let us marry, just as I promised you…I want to confirm you as my wife, as mine and only mine…mines to embrace, mines to kiss, mines to make love to…"_

_Yahshi slowly found his eyes, searching for certainty, and finally nodded when she found it. She moved behind the large Ankh and nagged at the rusted chains with only one working hand thanks to her wrist. "…I can't get them loose…" she panicked._

_Atemu looked back to the Feather of Horus, which sat in the sand with its legs folded in. "What about your Ka?" _

_Yahshi looked upon it, then suddenly whistling loudly for it to come to her. "Servant of Horus!" _

_The mixed beast swung its head and then lifted its attention to its mistress. Feather of Horus lifted up and ran over to the princess. _

"_Break these chains and set him free." She pointed to the rusted black binds. _

_The bird did as told and took the thick chains between its beak, and clamped down on it, snapping it in half as it yanked it. _

_The chains fell off Atemu's waist and finally he was free from the torture. _

_The Ka of Yahshi screeched, getting both their attention. _

_The heat of the sun slowly scared away the shadows as sunrise rose over Cairo. _

_Yahshi gasped in fright, looking to her Pharaoh and then grabbing his hand. "Come on, Atemu! We have to go now!" _

"_Is there something wrong?" he asked, dumbfounded._

"_Yes! My father is going to have your head the moment the rays diminish the shadows from night! He's on his way as we speak! I have to get you out of here!" she led him to Feather of Horus and leaped onto the back of it with him, slightly startling the large bird and causing it to panic._

_The bird hit against the walls as it swayed sideways, finally shaking off the daze._

"_Feather of Horus, let's go!" Yahshi demanded._

_The Ka jerked its head up and did as told. It jumped out of the broken chamber and galloped for the Valley of the Kings. _

_Suddenly, an arrow flew past them, only cutting through the skin of Yahshi's cheek. Atemu saw this, and looked behind them with eyes wide open. _

"_AFTER THEM! KILL THEM BOTH!" _

_Yahshi heard her father yell in boiling hatred. _

_Atemu watched as he saw the ten horsemen speeding in a "V" pattern right behind their boundaries. _

_Yahshi held onto Atemu's back as two horsemen appeared on the left and right of them, their swords and spears positioned. One man's spear lunged out for the Pharaoh._

"_ATEMU!" Yahshi screamed as it only missed him by a hair._

_The eagle/lion traveled faster, panting now, trying to out run the horses. _

_Automatically a rope was thrown around Feather of Horus's neck. _

"_FEATHER OF HORUS, TAKE FLIGHT!" Yahshi demanded as a whip was wrapped around its back leg. _

_The animal did as told, and spun upwards into the current of winds, lifting the soldiers and their horses from the ground and tossed into the earth. _

_Both Atemu and Yahshi watched as the screams of her father echoed through Egypt, causing the thousands of birds to be startled from their habitat behind the palace temples. Slowly they found each other's eyes through the winds, smiling gratefully. Yahshi suddenly wrapped her arms under his waist and snuggled into his back joyfully, Atemu smiling timidly. _

"_Tell me, are you alright?" he asked her gently. _

"…_I'm fine…" she whispered muffled into him. "…As long as you're here, I'm fine…"_

_His eyes had befallen in tender softness, but both were jerked out of their tender mood and left hollering to their doom the moment Feather of Horus spiraled through the sky and flew over the canyons of the Valley of the Kings._

_**/End of flashback/**_

Yami Atemu, still looking out into the depths of the night sky, stood stiffly in thought. That was some reunion…but, why was it that he couldn't remember the last events for when they married?

_"I remember now…"_

He rested his back on the floor, shadowing his hand over his eyes, looking at the moon above him between his fingers. _"…If we can't be together in this lifetime, then we'll be together in the next…"_ he whispered aimlessly to himself.

"…_And it occurred too…"_

Atemu widened his eyes and turned his head just to see Yahshi sitting there beside him, eyes sacredly looking up at the night sky.

"…_The moon's full like that exact same night…"_ her eye softened.

Atemu looked up into the sky as well. _"…You risked so much to have us together again…your entire family, your own kingdom and people…"_

She stared down into her lap and soon closed her eyes. _"…None of it mattered, for you know I couldn't let you out of my sight again…I had to come back to you some way, even if it meant leaving everything I once loved before…"_

Atemu's eyelids slowly fell low as he smiled up at her. _"…The price for love is high sometimes…" _he stroked her hair, her strands entangling with his fingers when they pulled back. _"…For look how we are now…only distant spirits from 5,000 years ago…"_

Yahshi's eyes narrowed as she listened, not feeling delight at the moment. _"…It was just as you said…we're together in the next…" _she then let herself smile shyly as she looked into her knees. _"…I didn't want to have my name engraved in history after death just to have it known beside my loved one; no I didn't want to hear only the stories of my love. I wanted someone that I could grow old with and love forever, not just someone to be known beside. And I got him…" _a faint blush of pink shaded on her face as her amber eyes twinkled in the dark. _"…I got him, and he is all I want…" _she closed her eyes peacefully as her hand touched her pendant. _"…I got you, Atemu…"_

Atemu sat up beside her, wrapping his arm up under her back, and kissing the side of her head gently. _"…And you are all the answers and meaning to any lifetime of mine…"_

"_ONE of them, my King, one of them."_ Yahshi smiled up at him, eyes looking up and down his face and feeling dazed in a trance. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up into his eyes worriedly as if he were going to slip away. _"Just promise…you won't leave me, like you did before…please bestow my wish, and don't leave again…"_ a single tear rolled out of her eye as she continued to smile, her eyes fallen low in softness.

Atemu wiped the stream of crystal tear away. _"…You're not going to lose me…"_

They stayed in their position until a shooting star reached their sights.

Yahshi turned back to her Pharaoh, resting her head against his chest as they both sat against the wall, his chin resting against her head. _"…Make a wish…"_

"I don't need to." He smiled as he looked down on her and she looked up to him, tilting his head forward as if closing in for a kiss. _"My wish already came true 5,000 years ago…"_

She blushed at some point, but silently laughed it off before his lips over hers cut her off pleasurably.

Izzy watched them from her bed. They're so happy together. I wonder if I can truly find happiness like that. She glanced at a sleeping Yugi in his sleeping bag, over her shoulder. _'Or maybe…It is closer to me than I think_.'


	10. Understood and Misunderstood

**_Understood and Misunderstood_**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**12:45 AM **

The poor girl couldn't sleep one bit, and already she was starting to miss her home, her empty home. It might be strange, but at times she could find comfort in her pain.

**_"BANG!" _**

Isolde's body cringed.

It was the only sound she memorized when her mom was assassinated all thanks to her father's reckless "businesses." People running and shrieking, children crying, father hugging his dead wife…

(Song: "I Must Be Dreaming/Haunted" by Evanescence)

* * *

**_Long~, lost~, words~ whi-sper slow-ly~_**

**_To me..._**

**_Still~, can't~, find what, keeps me here_**

**_When all~, this time I've, been so hollow inside~…_**

**_{I know you're still there}_**

**_

* * *

_**

Her mind was on a sprinting marathon:

_'I don't think…Father is coming back for awhile now. It's the usual when he leaves, never tells me where he's going or when he's going, and just comes back home whenever he feels like it…Hmmm…' _

Isolde twisted her body to the ceiling skylight. The heavens was soon to be lighting up with the crack of dawn's sunrise…

The intact room was a frigid iciness of darkened abyss. It brought back boisterous screams to her ears.

* * *

**_Watch~ing me,_**

**_Want~ing me,_**

**_I can feel you pull me down_**

**_Fear~ing you, lov~ing you_**

**_

* * *

_**

Isolde revolved her head to the bed's side, seeing it as her very own mattress for when she was nine years of age.

The air seemed to get colder.

Her eyes gentled with a glitter of grievous childhood. She felt alone again. Everyone had a time in life when they'd feel this way, at least once, so it's not all that pitiful and pathetic if you've been the one to feel it too.

For Isolde, her bedroom door was the only door she could open and feel safe behind. Her room was the only room she would run into and cry herself to sleep in a corner when she thought of how it was her father's fault their family collapsed. It was her father's fault her mother is not of this world. It was her father's fault that she's living in a nightmare. It was her father's fault he forced her to never speak of the reason for her mother's murder.

* * *

**_How can I pre-tend_**

**_That I don't see_**

**_What you hide, so care-less-ly?!_**

**_How can I go on_**

**_I've got~, to tell someone_**

**_Tell them I know what you've done!_**

**_I fear you_**

**_And spoken fears can come true_**

**_

* * *

_**

Some sapphire tears dripped from the watery turquoise of her eyes. She choked out a chilly breath of pain and closed her eyes tightly, gripping the sheets of the bed.

Her mother's _blood_...puddles and pools and lakes and splotches of _blood_...

* * *

**_I saw her bl-bleed..._**

**_And you heard me breathe_**

**_And I froze inside myself, and turned away_**

**_I must be dreaming_**

**_We...all...live!_**

**_We...all...die!_**

**_That...does...not...be-gin, to jus-ti-fy you!_**

**_

* * *

_**

Her heart wasn't healing at all. She needed the encouragement, the will to go on…she needed someone to give it to her, or tell her it was going to be okay. She needed to be welcomed into another's arms so she can make up for all her lost hopes and happiness. Without it…she would die in darkness and behind her smiles of fakery and polite manners.

Slowly a smile extended across Isolde's pale face, her clammy lips quivering. Tears clung to her eyelashes as she tried to forget everything and pull herself together.

* * *

**_It's~ not~, what it seems,_**

**_It's~ not~, what I think_**

**_No, I must be dreaming!_**

**_It's~ on~ly in my mind_**

**_Not~ re-al life!_**

**_No~, I must be dreaming~!_**

(End of Song)

**_

* * *

_**

Isolde felt the darkness loom over her, watch her every move and distress just to make sure she'd forever stay that way. When her mother died, that shadow never left her heart or the gash down between the axis of it. It was why her father made them move away; to rebuild life and escape the past, both their pasts.

At least she knew the cure she needed. She wanted what her name meant: love. Is it that forbidden, for the darkness to let her have light?

She wanted the love for when you find that special someone, the ones her mother talked about, and how she would tell her the stories of Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and the Beast, and the fairytales that made love seem worth dying or fighting for. Yet, the love chronicle that enthused her most was that of dear Yahshi and Atemu and how they loved each other no matter how prohibited it was. But no, Isolde had not found her prince yet…unless he was right there before her own eyes, her very own Romeo, her very own Tristan.

'Yugi…'

Isolde peeked at him on the floor from the corner of her eye. He was sound asleep, mutely snoring with his eyelashes relaxed on his cheeks.

She softened her eyes and blinked. She was destined to find her Romeo some day, for her name didn't seem right standing there lonely by itself. Her mother did not give her the name of Isolde for randomness, but because it meant, "Destined to be loved," just like that of Isolde, though her heart died in catastrophe. She didn't want a catastrophic ending like that, but if that's what it took to have love, she'd do just this.

Yugi was the one to complete the tale now. She could even recall the day they first laid eyes upon each other. That day they found each other's eyes, she felt like she told him everything from that gaze, like he could see right through her soul and know why she was so miserable. Like he was saying, he'd care for her too…

Isolde looked back to the clock. The digits rotated to one o'clock. With all these thoughts colliding she wasn't going to be able to rest.

Determinedly, she shut her eyes tight and gripped the covers over her. A tear strolled down her nose as she shivered. In the dark, it was hard not to think about her childhood, and her mother's bloodied lips smiling into her eyes.

She tasted the brackish tears strolling over her bitter lips. Sobbing like a banshee to herself, she enveloped the sheets over her head.

**_Morning Sunrise (7:30 AM)_**

Mr. Motou opened the door to Yugi's bedroom and found his grandson sitting on the bed beside Isolde. "Yugi, shouldn't you be heading off to school now?"

"Oh, I'm not going today. I was gonna stay and take care of Izzy." He grinned happily.

"That's very sweet of you." His Grandpa smiled. "But you **_are_** going to school today and **_I_** will take care of Isolde."

"But, Grandpa—"

"Don't you 'but Grandpa' me, young man. You get your backpack and go to school."

"Alright, alright I'll go…" Yugi twisted back to the weary girl. "Will you be okay?"

She smiled with the lean of her head. "I'll be perfectly fine."

Yugi smiled at her, his hands still grasping hers. His eyes became soft in remoteness, as his lips parted to let through outlying words.

His grandpa even paused to listen as he set the folded clothes basket down beside his bed.

"…Izzy…listen," Yugi's fingers leisurely stroked her hand, making her eyes draw to them. "There's…there's something that I…I want to tell you," urgently he looked down, her looking up at him with fear in her eyes. "…Isolde, I—"

"Um, Yu-Yugi you should really be going." She peeked at the clock. "You're going to be late!" her eyes scanned over his restlessly.

"Wha? Oh…school right!" he picked up his backpack before rushing out. "I'LL SEE YOU THIS AFTERNOON!" he yelled while heading out of the Game shop door.

Mr. Motou chuckled. "My, that boy is something else, isn't he?" he turned his head to his guest when she didn't answer. His eyes widened as he saw her clutch her head in her palms, shoulders trembling.

Isolde's eyes turned into turquoise gloominess as she thought with a sore tone of voice in her mind_, I…I don't even know what he was going to say, and I just snapped into fear so suddenly. Why am I so afraid? Why did I stop him?_ She shut her eyes tightly. _…Yugi…what do you want to tell me?_

**_High school (8 minutes before class)_**

Yugi met up with his friends at the entrance. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey there, Yug." Joey grinned.

'What's going on?"

"Nothing good really." Tea's eyes looked about as if searching. "Say, where's that _girl_ you like so much?"

"I never **_said_** I liked her!" Yugi squeaked, fists balled in protest.

"Our heads aren't made of lead, you know." Tea crossed her arms. "You don't even have to say anything for us to know you have a crush on her." She rolled her eyes off to the side.

"Whoa, back up!" Tristan smirked. "Our little Yugi likes a girl? He's finally turned into a man! Spill the beans Yugi, who is it?!"

"Well…I—"

"Dat reminds me, ya' know dat Isolde girl?" Joey interrupted.

"Yeah," Everyone but Yugi answered.

"She's kinda cute, 'uh? 'Uh~?" Joey elbowed Tristan.

"Yeah…she's _alright_, I guess." Tristan narrowed his eyes, wondering where Joey was going with this.

Yugi and Tea looked at Joey anxiously, especially Yugi.

"Well I've been 'dinkin' dat maaaaybe —"

_[ -BRIIIING BRIIIING - ]_

**_(English Period) _**

"I hope you remember what a noun is for your own sake, if you ever paid any attention in elementary that is…" the female professor stacked her papers as she looked mischievously over her students. Her eyes pinpointed Yugi who seemed to be gazing out the window in fantasy. "MISTER MOTOU!" she pointed her finger abruptly to him, standing up all of the sudden. "GIVE ME A NOUN, NOW!"

All the student's eyes went buggy and wide; she was so energetic.

Yugi automatically answered, "…Isolde…" as he still stared out the window in his own globe, as if not even listening to her, just whispering the name he was thinking so dreadfully about.

Everyone paused and stared quietly.

"Awww, how adorable!" a girl leaned over her table to point at Yugi. "Looks like the little shrimp has a little thing for the _little _new girl!"

Some of the girls started laughing and giggling to their friends, while few of the boys hooted and whooped.

Yugi sank back into his seat, feeling embarrassed. He couldn't help it, that's what was on his mind!

Joey and Tristan stared at him and blinked four times at one another.

The female teacher smiled proudly as she arched her glasses, sitting back down. "…That's correct…"

**_Lunch Area_**

"So Yug, you really talked ta' dis Isolde girl?" Joey asked him eagerly.

Yugi nodded with a flush. "Wh-Why do you want to know?"

"Well…do you like her?"

"Of _course_ I don't! And stop asking me for the _last time_!" Yugi shouted angrily and nervously all at once.

Joey blinked broadly in some intimidation of the little guy. "…Alright, alright! Shesh!" he leaned over the table, bowing his head as he lowly told Yugi with narrowed eyes. "Then could you tell her…dat Joey Wheela wants to know if she busy Saturday night?" He faintly blushed with a widening grin.

Tea, Tristan and Yugi wheezed, "WHAT?!?!"

"PIPE DOWN, will ya? It ain't THAT serious! I've jus' had my eye on her lately and I'm too nervous ta' ask her out. So since you know her, Yug, can you ask her for me?"

"B-But, you were the one making FUN of her all the time!" Tristan choked out.

"And? She grew on me a lil'. AN' she a rich girl."

A matter of fact, Tristan and Tea did remember seeing Joey stare at her from across the room in two of their classes. Both sweat dropped…no wonder he's been failing.

"Joey, you can't be serious!" Tristan slammed his fist down on his companion's head. "I mean you have no chance, dude!"

Tea agreed. "Yeah do you really think she'll go out with you through Yugi asking for you?"

"Yup! Sure do!" Joey smiled confidently, rubbing the back of his head and glaring back at Tristan. "So what do ya' say Yug? Can ya'? Pleeeeeaseeee?!!?! A favor for a f'iend!"

Yugi stared at him blankly. He seemed a little spaced out in hurt. _Joey…likes her, too?_

"Ehhh, Yugi? You in 'dere, ol' buddy ol' pal?" Joey drummed on his skull.

"Earth to _Yugi_…" Tristan gestured his hand in front of his face.

Yugi only looked down in trouble. "I…I just remembered I had something to take care of first…" he got up from the table and ran around the corner, walloping into some people who shrieked at him to watch it.

"Why is Yugi actin' so wei'd?" Joey turned to Tea after eying Yugi's quick excuse.

Tea sighed. "You may not have figured this OUT yet, but Yugi likes the girl too."

"Are you sober?!" Tristan and Joey asked in unison, jaw-slacked. "How many guys like this girl!?"

Tea rested her cheek in her palm. "Well, you know how it is…when a new student enrolls the players put them up for grabs all the time to see who can get to them to fall for them first…just for competition, not because of the girl. Even if she's just HARDLY attractive, they'll shoot for it. Not to mention she's rich…that's actually the only thing I've heard the guys talk about."

"Yeah I know," Joey nodded while crossing his arms. "I've tried dat once, didn't work…"

"But unlike the jocks, Yugi isn't even trying to get at THIS new rich girl. He always acts like he's been shot by Cupid's arrow around that girl, and he used to never even speak with her…too shy."

Tristan grinned at Joey who gave him a, 'what are you grinning about' glare. "Whoa, dude there is noooo way that you can ask her out now!"

"Yeah Joey, you **_have_** to give her up." Tea pointed to him sternly.

Joey raised his eyebrows and folded his arms over his chest. "Hey, I like her too ya' know!"

Tristan scratched his chin. "You moron, you just like her for her wallets! This girl isn't worth breaking up a good friendship! Why don't you use your head for a change and think about people's _feelings_?"

"I agree with Tristan…for once." Tea nodded.

"Thanks for havin' my back, Tea! ...Wait, _what _did you say?"

Joey set his chin in his palm as his eyes looked away from the two as if in boredom, but really thinking hard if he should do what they say. He has his own choices, to either let a long lasting friendship slip away, or keep the girl who could maybe even buy him a tax-free lifestyle.

**_Out on Campus_**

Yugi sat himself down on the school yard bench, holding his head in between his fingers. As he sighed he lifted his eyes to the distant winds, sorely disheartened.

It wasn't fair. He truly did like Izzy, or maybe it was only sympathy for her that he felt. The strong compassion…

"I can't believe my best friend also has a thing for Izzy…" Yugi's violet eyes fastened forcefully. "This ruins everything!" he held his skull between his hands once again, trying to clear his head. "Urgh…it's not right to let some girl come between friendship…so I guess, I guess…I'll have to forget her for good this time…"

"Nah, don't do dat Yug."

He raised his head from the midst of his deliberations and turned to see Joey approaching him from the aloofness. Yugi stood up from the bench and in front of his best comrade. "Joey, what are you doing out here?"

"Tea told me 'bout your feelings for tha' new girl and all..."

Yugi flinched as his face warmed with cherry. "Oh…she d-did?"

"Yeah, and I was 'tinkin' if you feel dat way, den I can f'get her."

"But I thought you liked her?"

"Yea', but you clearly like her waaaay more, and…not fo' 'er money, ehe. I don't even like her dat much. You don't like someone forever after all, besides, there's a good chance she won't like me, even if _dat _sounds completely insane. I mean," Joey stretched his cheeks and wagged his tongue, making a clown's face. "What gurl _couldn't_ love 'dis go'geous face?"

Yugi looked down with a small smile after laughing till his belly ached. "Thanks, Joey. That means a lot to me…"

"Don't mention it, Yug." He gave Yugi a thumbs up. "So, ah...you're really into dis gurl, 'uh? Just how much?"

Yugi looked up at the clouds with soft and hypnotized plum eyes.

Joey blinked confusedly between glances of the sky and Yugi, trying to understand what the dazed look was centered on.

"Well, I don't really know what it is, but…all I know is I'd do anything for her, even if it meant my life."

"Woooah," Joey blinked twice in amazement. "That **_is_** deep! ...A little **_too_** deep! You sure bout all that? I mean, does she like you _back_?"

"I don't…really know?" Yugi gave him a weary smile of uncertainty. "…I haven't asked or told her yet…"

"Hold it, rewind!" Joey began to count down everything Yugi said about how he felt for her, "So lemme get 'dis straight! You want her more dan dah world, you would do anything for her, even give away ya' life, and you still haven't told her?! Yugi, what's wrong with you, pal?!"

He shrugged a shoulder. "I'm afraid she won't like me back…"

"Oooohhhh, so you're lovesick, I get it!" Joey stroked his chin as he laughed to himself. "Ha! I'ma genius!"

Yugi only sweat dropped at this. "You know~, it's not that tough to figure out Joey…"

**_Game shop_**

Since Yugi was off at school, his Grandpa was doing his chores for him. But he wasn't doing them alone. Izzy had been helping him out now that she was jiffy more than ever. Awhile ago she had went back to her empty household to throw on something new and not soaking wet; a pair of short jean shorts and white blouse tied in a knot up to her concave stomach with folded back sleeves. It was just something simple to help around the shop in and something she could get dirty, and not anything new and cute. Nevertheless she wore her hair in the same style; hair half up in a loose pony tail and half down.

"Mr. Motou, some of your plants are dying." Isolde bent over the dying flora life, lifting its shriveled leaf.

"Oh, I knew that one was bound to rot. It hasn't been doing so well lately. Just toss that whole pot away; I can see a deep crack in it." Mr. Motou pointed to a crack beneath the pot.

"Yes sir." She did as told obediently, bowing slightly.

In less than an hour the filthy game shop was sparkling spotless.

"I have to say I haven't seen this place sparkle like this in years." Mr. Motou grinned as he turned to innocent child. "You're a big help; thank you."

"Well, I used to help my mom around the house when I was little…or tried to. That was, before she…passed on that day of my birthday."

"She passed? I'm terribly sorry."

She grew a timid smile. "Oh no, it was too long ago for me to even remember most things about it."

Forced to tell others that her death was an accident pained her to cry, because she did remember. She was assassinated, murdered, neglected…she never 'passed away'.

He sat in a nearby chair and let out a sigh of relaxation. "So does your father know about you staying here?"

She held the broom in place of her hands and shook her head. "He's out of town again…I'm staying at home by myself for probably until next week or more."

"Well that's not very parental of him! Even if you are sixteen, still!"

"It's fine; it's just how things go in our household."

Mr. Motou's eyes saddened before the light bulb went off above his head. "Say!" he snapped his fingers. "I've got an idea! Why don't you stay here until your dad comes back? I wouldn't mind. I'm sure Yugi wouldn't either…especially."

She looked at him in surprise. "You'd really let me stay here?" she blinked as he nodded, forcing on a smile. "Oh thank you Mr. Motou!" she bowed repeatedly. "I'll work really hard too so I can earn my stay!"

The old man just chortled deeply to himself. "Now, now, none of that! You don't need to earn anything, this is an offer that's all! No strings attached! It's the least I could do. Besides no one should be alone and not be surrounded by their loved ones."

Isolde couldn't help but shyly smile as her eyes lowered to the floor. "That's kind of what Yugi has been telling me. I would wonder every night, if anyone at all would care in this world if I just ended up dead one day in a ditch somewhere."

"OF COURSE SOMEONE WOULD!" Mr. Motou slammed his fist in to his hand with furrowed gray eyebrows. "You always have people who love you in this world! You should never think so negatively!"

"O-oh, I-I…I won't do it again, I promise!" she tried to confirm to settle him down.

When silenced deafened the air, she looked up at the ceiling for a mind drift. "…I'm starting to miss Yugi…" Her eyes drooped in some grief.

Yugi's Grandpa smiled. _Maybe I can use this to my advantage. _"What do you think about him?"

"Think...about him? Ah, well...ah, he's...he's _inspired _me…yes! Inspired me."

"Do you…think he loves you at all?" he raised an eyebrow highly.

Izzy looked to him as if why he'd ask that question, but replied anyhow. "I…don't know how he sees me really. Either I just can't take a hint or it's impossible to see things through his eyes."

"Why don't you ask him?"

"That would seem awkward, wouldn't you think?" She looked down in a sea of thoughts. Her heart contacted her mind. "But maybe if I…"

"If you what? If you what?!" Mr. Motou was so eager to know, his leaning over too much nearly caused him to fall off his chair.

"It's really unusual…" she hugged the broom in her breasts.

"You can tell me!"

Isolde looked afar with her eyes facing the ground. Her cheek bones were lighting up with cherry. "I…I think I'm falling for Yugi Motou…"

Mr. Motou fell out of his chair.

Isolde rushed to his aid. "Mr. Motou! Are you okay, Mr. Motou?!"

"Of course!" he smiled while she helped him get up. "My grandson has a girlfriend now! Thank god—Dog-gone it! My back…ow…severe pain…"

Her face was blushing deeper now. "A…girlfriend…? But I don't even know if he likes me that way!"

"Then tell him…!" he grinned while rubbing his back. "Now I need to get an icepack for my back before my body breaks down."

While he went on jabbering about how happy he was that Isolde and Yugi were going to make a great item, she had been wondering about what he said:

_"Then tell him..."_

"Tell him…I love him…_heh,_ what an entertaining thought." Isolde giggled in her hand with a pink shade shadowed over her cheeks.

**_After school_**

Yugi had asked his friends to come with him to see the Isolde girl. Everyone agreed, even Duke Devilin, except Bakura, due to his excessive absences as of late.

"Hey Yug," Joey walked up beside him. "Why has dis Izzy-girl been stayin' at your house for tha' past few days?"

"Yeah," Tristan gave him a sly expression as he hovered over his shoulder. "What's been cracking lately with you two? Hiding your secret relationship, are you? _Secret loooovers, that's what we are, trying so hard to hide the way we_—"

Tea quickly walloped him with her algebra book.

Yugi chuckled timorously before returning to Joey. "W-Well it's a long story actually."

"_Is it _now?" smirked Tristan.

"Has to do with some evil sorceress trying to take her Millennium item and almost ki…." He paused. Horrid flashbacks streamed through his sights. He smiled uncomfortably and glimpsed back to his friends. "Uh…never mind. We'll talk about this later."

"Awww that's okay, Yugi! You don't have to tell us your seeecret relationship details." Tristan nodded understanding, fingers to his chin. "So let's head to your place to see the girl."

"First I wanted to get her something." Yugi clarified while eye-searching for an optional flower store.

"Let me guess," Tea huffed, finger held up. "An engagement ring?"

Everyone snickered behind him.

Yugi gawped at them.

"It was only a joke!" Tea said, still laughing.

"Come to think of it, getting her an engagement ring isn't a bad idea." Yugi's eyes shifted.

All his friends stared at him with wide eyes. "YOU SERIOUS?! YOU'RE GONNA ASK TO TAKE HER HAND IN MARRIAGE?! HOOOOLY SH—"

_( - HOOOOONK - )_

A truck passed them by.

Tristan draped his arm over Yugi's shoulder. "So what hotel are you two gonna get busy in for the honey moon?"

Yugi's eyes went buggy as he started horrifyingly at the boy while Tea slapped Tristan in the back of the noggin. "TRISTAN! YOU PERVERT!"

"I WAS JUST BEING REALISTIC!"

"NO! NO! NO! NOW YOU PUT BAD THOUGHTS INTO MY MIND!" Yugi scratched his head frantically to forget the phrase and the image he saw of Isolde that one night. "Gees, and to think _I_ was only joking around!"

"That's so not funny!" Tea angrily pouted.

"Yeah but you do have to admit it was a pretty good joke." Joey snickered.

"Oh and Joey," Yugi slanted his eyes. "**_You_** can be the best man."

"REALLY?! YEAH!!!" he threw his fist up into the air.

Tristan suddenly balled his fist to his own face. "How come Joey gets to be the best man? What about me?"

"Tristan, you can be the best ape." Duke interrupted with a small snicker.

"Shut up, dice boy! Do not remind me of that virtual freak place Noah put us in, ok!"

"Excuse me?! At least I'm not the one with the Gumby hair cut!"

"You wanna run that by me again, Emo boy?! And Gumby's hair is slanted like a side shave!"

Tristan and Duke faced each other, growling like heated pit bulls.

"Calm down, guys!" Yugi's small stature stood between the two. "It was just a joke!"

"Oh…psh, I knew that." They all coughed.

**_Game shop _**

Yugi propped open the front door of the Game shop, allowing everyone to enter before him. He made sure to hide the flowers behind his lean back.

Isolde was too occupied in her conversation with Mr. Motou to take notice of Yugi desperately hiding the bouquet behind his back.

Once the bell jingled, she immediately distinguished it was Yugi, and sat up happily to greet him. "Yugi! You're back!" she gave him a leaping hug.

"N-N-Nice to see you too…" Yugi grinned with the stroke of red in his face rising higher with each fleeting second.

Isolde smiled until she became aware of the teens standing behind her companion.

"Oh, I almost forgot! T-These are my friends."

Isolde blushed in bashfulness with a little coy smile plastered on her face as she looked down. "O-Oh, forgive me," She bowed to honor her guests with her broom still in her hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Joey and Tristan rubbed the back of their heads dully and grinned. "VERY nice to meet you too!"

She put a hand behind her head and smiled a little more eased, slightly sweat dropping.

_'Man I can't believe I let this lil' polite money-angel fly back to money-heaven wit' out me! By dat pricy ornament on her neck, she coulda bought me a whole HOT WHEELS collection!'_ Joey's mind shouted as a huge grin spread across his face.

_'Man oh man is she--… No, she's actually NOT as cute as Serenity, but….'_ Tristan thought as he balled his hand into a fist to contain his ideas. '_She's like a hot version of Cinderella with that broom!'_

(A/N: I feel like I'm writing a "That 70's Show" episode…)

Duke Devilin's face lit up with pink, his eyes in the shape of hearts. He took hold of both her hands. "Can I just say that you're one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen?! You're like my fantasy come true! And you're a MONEY tree, too!" he closed in on her face, heart eyes pumping. "You're so fascinating, a fabulous goddess of beauty and love, such a radiant creature as you has enchanted me, and oh be still my heart!"

Isolde sweat dropped and blushed all at once. She knew her father's bank account would grant her popularity towards the students of her school, but she never knew it had such an effect on them as well. "P...Par-Par-_don_ me, but...you're m-making me unc-c-comfortable." she tried to be polite, only because Duke was in a way creeping her out with such…poetry.

Tea seized his ear. "Alright _Tristan _your Isolde has already been swept off her feet by a _better _prince charming."

"Don't worry, my love, I shall return!" he cried out as a river of tears streamed down his face.

Yugi just stared with bewilderment as Mr. Motou chuckled under his breath.

Joey walked up to her and shook her hand speedily. "Heeeelloooo Princess Isolde! My name's Joey Wheela, second best duelist in Duel Monstas."

"It's nice to know another good duelist close to Yugi. My name's—"

"Isolde Isiserah, we know." Everyone replied with simple smiles.

"Yeah, Yugi talks about you all~ tha' time." Joey elbowed Yugi.

She flinched and turned to Yugi in surprise, grinning from ear to ear without even knowing. "…Really?"

"Yeah w-well, um…sometimes."

"Please," Joey sarcastically smiled while rolling his eyes. "More like 24/7."

"Joey!" Tea shoved him out of the way. "You're hogging everyone's turn to introduce themselves! I'm Tea Gardner, Yugi's childhood friend!"

"AND MY NAME IS TRISTAN TAYLOR!" he said in a 'dramatic' voice, as if trying to impress her with his 'masculinity', only making a larger sweat drop appear on her forehead.

"And I'm Duke Devilin! The inventor and store manager of Dungeon Dice Monsters, aka, your dream come true!" Duke winked flirtatiously, digging a thumb into his chest.

"Ooooor," Tristan grinned mischievously. "You can just call him Dukey! It's more fit, ya' know?"

"Yeah that's right—wait …HEY!!!"

Everyone laughed.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Yugi faced Isolde, revealing his bouquet of ruby roses. "Here I…g-got something for you." His eyes drifted off, eyebrow creased inwards.

Isolde gasped at the thoughtful gift. "Oh gosh," she smiled with her eyes lifted closed in great pleasure. "I absolutely love them!" she cautiously took them in her hands and smelt their saccharine aroma.

Yugi blinked, shocked she liked them. "You…really like them?"

"Yes, I adore roses." She gentled her eyes on the blossoms as she held them close to her heart. "…My mom couldn't afford expensive gifts for me back when we were poor, so she used to always give me red roses for my birthday, how ever many for how old I was each year." The light shown intensely against her orbs. "Thanks, for reminding me of something sweet in my past…" she leaned in and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

Yugi went bug-eyed as his entire face blossomed red like the dearest roses. "Y-Y-Y-Y-You'reeee welcome…"

Some wolf-whistles and 'whoops' emitted from behind them. Yugi looked over his shoulder at his friends, who immediately stopped scoffing.

Tea's fingernail pointed to the boys of the group. "…THEM…"

"Tat-a-tell!" they all squealed in unison.

Isolde tittered, "You guys are hilarious."

"You here that?!" Duke beamed with his eyes in anime hearts again. "She said I'm funny!!!"

"Whateva!" Joey sighed. "Besides, she was talkin' 'bout me, Dukey-boy!"

"HEY! She was obviously looking at me when she said it!" Tristan jumped in.

"Yugi," His Grandpa finally blurted. "It has been decided that Isolde was to stay here for a few days since her father is out of town."

"That's awesome!" Yugi simply grinned to her. "_I love you_ being here."

Izzy's heart skipped a beat, mostly hearing the words:

_"I love you…"_

Sadly enough her mind was only playing hoaxes on her tender feelings.

She quickly recovered, "Then…I'll need to go back home and get some things."

"Whoa, wait! TIME OUT." Yugi posed his fingers in an 'x' gesture. "What if that witch comes back to try and…" he trailed off, biting his lip, hunting for the right words. "…T-Take you away from us again…from…m-m-me again?"

Izzy let out a tiny, 'oh' and altered her expression into a warm smile pure with turquoise eyes. "Oh Yugi, I promise I'll be alright this time for sure."

"But what if—" he stopped himself, and shook off the thoughts. Quickly he decided, "Look, I'm coming with you."

"No!" she drove her palm into his chest to halt him. "If she does reappear I don't want you getting hurt too. Besides, I went back home earlier today without anyone walking me…isn't that enough to convince you?"

"What? NO it's not enough to convince me! And—WHAT?!"

"Listen Yugi, put your trust and FAITH in me and that protection barrier will be enough to guide me back here safely." she scanned over his eyes as if struggling to persuade him. "I need to know I can manage myself for once, please…let me go alone. And if I do come across her, I won't be brought down without a fight." She stared down at her Millennium Bangle to convince even herself.

Yugi let his guard down as his eyes had fallen to his feet.

Isolde bowed in front of Yugi's friends, "It was nice to finally meet you all. You are lucky to have such a great friend like Yugi…" Quickly she rushed out of the door, leaving Yugi to make up his mind at the last minute.

"Izzy, hold on!"

Too late, she had already disappeared…

"Ah don't worry, Yugi." His Grandpa set his hand on his shoulder. "She'll be alright, I'm sure of it. Even though that girl doesn't think much of her own spirit, she's in a way, strong inside…"

His vexed appearance explained he didn't care. He wanted to go after her, stop her or at least go with her so he could defend her. Yugi wasn't about to lose this Isolde once again…he couldn't take that risk.

"You know," Tristan interrupted loudly, giving everyone his full attention. "This whole thing with that girl staying over and stuff is like having a sleep over. But with a girl…hmmm. Yugi and her could play TWISTER…_naked_…"

Joey gave him a disgusted glower. "Aye, Tristan?"

"Yeah?"

"SHAD-DAAAAP!!!!"


	11. Anubis, God of the Dead

A Millennium's Elapsed Love

_**Anubis, God of the Dead; King of the Dead, Osiris **_

"_Anubis God of the Dead, depicted as a Jackal or Dog, was often seen in cemeteries of Egypt. He was charged with embalming __**Osiris**__, as well as with protecting his body both during and after it was embalmed._ _The black color of his fur represented comes from the color of human corpses after they had undergone the mummifying process. He is respected and deemed as the son of Osiris and Nephthys. In his role of the conductor of souls he leads the spirits and Ka's of the deceased to the House of Osiris. As the Judge of the Dead, Anubis would take each person's heart and weigh it against the Feather of Truth." – __**The Egyptian Gods Text**_

"Hey, pass the popcorn will ya'?" Tristan pleaded to Duke who had been hogging the popcorn. 

Yugi's friends were crammed in his living room watching the movie, _I Am Legend_. So far they all had been pretty much into the movie. Especially Joey, who had been gnawing on a pillow, pulling and tearing it every time something bloodcurdling flashed before his eyes.

Duke narrowed his green eyes on Tristan as he kept it from his reach. "I'm still grabbin' some." 

Tristan's left eye twitched in annoyance. "Yeah, like a whole MOUTHFUL!" He snatched the bowl from Duke.

"GIVE IT BACK!!" Duke lunged for the bowl, but Tristan shoved him away by his foot. 

"Get your own popcorn!" 

"Nuh uh, that popcorn is mine!" 

"It's mine!" 

"I SAW IT FIRST!!" 

"DID NOT!!" 

"DID TOO!! NOW GIVE IT BACK!" 

"IN YOUR DREAMS, DICE BOY!!"

While they continued to argue, Tea was on the sidelines, eyebrows furrowed and eyes closed in infuriation, her head steaming with arms crossed. Finally she popped. "WILL YOU **BOTH** _**SHUT UP**_? I'M _TRYING_ TO WATCH A **MOVIE** HERE!!" 

"But he took my popcorn!" Duke whined to her in defense.

"HERE!" Tea grabbed the bowl from Tristan and set it between the two. "_**SHARE**_!" she sat back down with her head still steaming. 

Joey tore the pillow apart as cotton fabric poured from its slit. He pointed his finger to the television screen of 'zombies' hurdled together in the darkness of an abandoned building. "NAHHHHHHHHH!!" he jumped out of his seat. 

"Gees, Joey!" Tea sweat-dropped. "Don't give yourself a heart attack…" 

While everyone else was enjoying being scared to death by the motion picture, Yugi spent his isolated moments looking out the window in concern to even care for it…

"Hey Yugi," Tea noted the glaze over his eyes. "What's wrong? You haven't said anything since Isolde left." she too, looked out the window. "Come to think of it, she's been gone for a long time…"

He stayed silent as his fingers clutched firmly to the cushions of the couch, hoping that Isolde was alright. 

All his friends looked at him, hoping _**he**_ was alright. 

**Neighborhood**

The billowing clouds hogged the light of the sky greedily, causing everything earthwards to be silhouetted by darkness.

Isolde strolled down the block with her bag of valuables. "I wonder how long I'll be staying there since father doesn't return for months. I'll just say he'll be coming back next week so I don't overdo my stay there." She looked around her surroundings, making sure no familiarly peculiar silhouette was stalking her. 

But from her distance, she could hear savage rumbles and barks down the street ways as if a dog was tearing something gory apart. She paused in some terror, listening to the sordid and fear-provoking racket of ripping fleshy tissue. 

It's quiet now…

A high-pitched howl chased the wind in her path, startling her pulse.

Isolde simply gulped, trying to calm herself with an illusion. "P-Probably just a dog fight." She paced quickly now, attentive eyes detecting the pure and unusual emptiness of the neighborhood; swings swinging vacuously, doors creaking and slamming shut, mocking the symptoms of a ghost town. 

The distance between the boulevards behind her appeared to catch up to her as if cursed. A windy draft blew a chain of leaves down the lane of the closing-in avenues.

Every nearby dog began to bark feverishly. 

She clasped the end of her shirt between her quavering fingers as her eyes inspected the houses, her sandals carrying her quicker. "What's going on?" 

Isolde observed one chained dog chained foam through its brisk barks while its tail whooshed about, but…

It stopped, whined and backed into the darkness of its doghouse.

Something was not right.

She held her bag tightly as sounds just abruptly paused. Izzy was almost too scared to breathe it was so silent. The bitter airstreams tangled in her mane as her frightened face stared into the space before her. "…Maibe…" 

The utterance of a bush's leaves rattling sprung the idea of 'demise' through Isolde's brain waves. The winds whispered and howled an anonymous fear. She slowly began to back up…orbs quaking.

_**Game shop**_

Tea was persistent to make Yugi gaze at the movie screen with everyone else. 

"Aw this is one of the cool parts!" Tristan explained eagerly. 

The motion picture presented the image of three virus-infected hounds being let loose on Will Smith and his deceased daughter's dog, Samantha. Yet the sun hadn't set over the horizon of the empty New York City's buildings yet, so the hounds stayed crouched in the shade, threatening Samantha with incensed snarling barks. 

Joey's eyes went wide. "Holy Smoly Look how UGLY dey are!!" 

"Those dogs sort of remind me of Joey…" Tristan snickered, Duke grinning, and Tea sighing. 

"…Wait, what?" Joey's eyelid thinned at them. 

_**Neighborhood**_

The only muscles that operated in Isolde's body seemed to be her fingers once they squeezed the living life out of her clothing bag. She just heard the emanation of a twig crack behind the quaking bush. 

Her mind screamed: _RUN!__** ESCAPE!**_

But her fear nailed her toes to the pavement and paralyzed her. Continuously, she jerked to move back, swaying her legs backwards, but her feet were almost literally glued to her lonesome spot.

A swing in the playground behind her began to swing itself, its chains unhinging after it swung harder and faster. The wind continued to haunt her. The shadowed underbrush continued to jangle. 

But at the sight of something horrid, Isolde dropped her bag and let all her clothes and hair conditioning roll out onto the concrete. 

A twosome of blood crimson orbs stared into her soul through the shaded shrubbery like twin lighthouses in the film of mist. An unfathomable voice chanted a foreign language in gruesome hisses of the tongue.

_**Game shop**_

As the film progressed, the line of sunlight that was kept between the handicap Will Smith and virus-mutated hounds was thinning. The last hours of sun was falling out of the sky. Once the light, which usually burned these mutated beasts to death, sealed to allow night to fall the creatures would attack them. They paced impatiently back and forth, forked tongues whipping. 

_**Neighborhood**_

A large, unnamed animal slowly revealed its form from the scrubs, branched tongue salivating blood from its open mouth. It stared hungrily into Isolde's hypnotized eyes. Lines wrinkled the beast's brow as it revealed its oozing fangs to her, threatening her as its back crouched lower under the shades. 

The monster appeared to be an original Pharaoh Hound, the ancient dog in Egypt. Its limbs were slender and elongated for faultless balance, extraordinary tall and wide ears, and narrow but deep pointed snout. A golden clamp necklace secured around its neck like the great statues of Anubis wore. Its fur was pitch black, blacker than night, yet drenched and soaked thoroughly in dark red as if someone had thrown a bucket of the blackest blood over its coat. The feecees of human corpses leaked through the corner of its eyes and nostrils, its stomach deflating and inflating with every heavy open-mouth pant. This dog represented that of Anubis, God of the Dead.

She screamed in horror at the hideous sight, tears to her black eyelashes.

The Pharaoh Hound choked out its threatening barks, fluids sputtering from its throat. The same voice continued to hymn depraved sins in Egyptian ritual.

_**Game shop**_

Yugi shifted his head to the window once more. 

"Oh my God, SAMMIE!" Tea suddenly screeched. 

Within the movie, the sun light slit across the ground that was Will and Samantha's barrier sealed, and night had finally come without light intruding. The virus-mutated hounds snarled and shot off for their prey with contaminated, curving fangs of slobber.

_**Neighborhood**_

The dog shook its wet body of bloodied fluids, and sped after the fleeing Isolde in a rampaging fury of hefty pants. It bayed in third tone like a nearing ghostly echo that haunted her ears. She squealed and clamped her hands over her ears, the howl deafening her as it got louder. 

As if possessed, the wind invisibly fluttered beneath her shoe and tripped her into the pavement.

From a roof top, the impure soul watched amusingly at the helpless girl. _**"His hunger shall be satisfied…little Isolde."**_

_**Game shop**_

The K-9 Samantha leaped for one of the virus-infected mutts while the second was gunned down by Will Smith. He watched Samantha battle the demonic dog, being strangled by the throat between the immortal jaws of the hound. 

Through the eyes of Yugi, even Yami Atemu was taking interest to this "I Am Legend."

Before anyone finished watching the movie, however, attention was drawn to Yugi's gleaming Millennium Puzzle. 

"Yugi, what's going on?" Tea looked into his eyes, only to find that he was just as confused as her. 

The artifact rattled and yanked him forward while the tip of the pyramid pointed into a specific direction like a guiding arrow. Yugi looked out of the window, seeing the clouds darkened outside. His eyes bolted open broadly. 

"…It's Izzy…" He scuttled out of the room and outside, leaving befuddled friends behind. 

_**Neighborhood**_

The murderess Anubis pounced on top of Isolde to gaze into her terrified eyes for a split second, rumbling between its fangs, and then snipped at her throat. She held the corner of its gums to keep it from reaching her, however. It snapped and growled with blood from its forked tongue splattering over her pale cheeks. The dog's claws grated her thighs, but she strained not to give in. Her potency to seize the bloody menace off was dropping compared to the immortal beast as its fangs snapped closer little by little. 

The primordial Millennium Bangle withheld the legendary gleam as the eye of Horus imbedded into Isolde's forehead. The five millennia old queen was in her position, and with her power of the Millennium, could manage a bit stronger than frail Isolde. 

Again, Anbuis clawed her upper leg, slitting four stripping lesions across the flesh. Yahshi screamed in agony.

Seeing there was no opening for a neck bite, the guardian of the graveyards dug its massive jaws into her right shoulder, ripping away the material of her blouse. It flung its head from side to side with her shoulder still between its fangs, trying to rip her flesh tissues into gory shreds of skin. The red blotches seeping from her worsening wound created a grand lake of blood onto the pavement. Yahshi's pain came out in a stifled choke…

Yahshi bit her bottom lip as her hair stood on end when the eye of Horus burned into the skin of her brow. Her millennium item began to take on a screening glow. The light blinded the dog's vision and blasted it away from her until it landed a good distance away onto the rock hard concrete. 

Yahshi panted endlessly as she tried to sit herself up. Once she stood, an immediate bawl of strangled pain fled her throat. Blackened purple veins of infection had streamed its way along her injured leg.

The dog of Anubis, dog or jackal of death, squirmed on its back like a beetle trying to land all its six legs on the ground to scurry away for shelter. The bloodthirsty demon quickly sprinted into her direction with a red tongue hanging from the edge of its mouth. A savage bark bellowed from its throat.

Yahshi looked back, horrified at the beaming red eyes gazing into her helpless soul. A flashback occurred; the dog was replaced as a hungry leopard of the deserts, just like when she was attacked in the Valley of the Kings on her way to meet Pharaoh Atemu 5 Millennia ago.

A memorable action came to mind.

The high pitched whistle sang across the crowns of houses and into boulevards throughout the city.

The dog halted, eyes widened at this awkward attempt she took upon. It scowled anyway, but held its ground in watchfulness, ears twitching at the immense air it was not familiar with. Its nose wormed as it snuffled the atmosphere, black snout covered in deep crimsonness of fluid.

"Meow…" 

There in the tree above them was Izzy's cat, Coba, prowling on the branch. He cocked his head as he met eyes with the deviled dog. 

The dog looked up and wrinkled its snout, showing off its blood-drenched fangs and murderess eyes, snarling under its breath.

Coba's hair stood up on his back as his eyes revolved into jade orbs of eclipse pupils. He opened his mouth to meow, all of the sudden its tone deepening into a grave and sinister growl. The clamped necklace around his neck took on a brilliant blaze as so did Yahshi's item. Coba jumped from the slender branch and in midair, his body seemed to stretch out longer into the nature of a outsized cheetah. 

The bloody hound was forced to the ground as Sabah ripped and tore flesh from its back. 

Sabah bounded off the dog, letting him lift up onto his feet. The big cat hissed as he circled his prey, the dog barking back ferociously. The cat roared as well, ears leveling against his head. The dog only sneered, feeling as if being insulted. Out of fury for dominance, the bloody black Anubis ran after its enemy, jaws wide open and ready to slit Sabah apart. The cheetah held his ground; stamping his paw on the concrete and growling murderously at the demon of all demons. Quickly he pounced at his fresh prey in a blurred motion of velocity.

It yelped and whimpered as the cheetah dug his fangs into its back neck, entwining and snapping bones in its throat. The dog fell limp onto the concrete. Its tongue hung from its mouth as the shade of its wide eye revolved into a deep burgundy, the light dying out.

Yahshi smiled up at her cheetah, nodding her head. "…Thank you, old friend…" 

As she limped away to leave, Sabah turned back to his early kill. Once the queen had left around the corner of a building, the blood demon's paw twitched, a rumble following.

Sabah raised his lips as he let out a hiss, the dog's shadow shadowing over his form, a deeper and louder growl of massacre echoing, and then a thunderous yelp following from the cheetah.

The immortal animal's eyebrows knit deeply against its wrinkled forehead as it stared impurely in the route Yahshi disappeared.

_**City**_

Yugi ran to the area his Millennium item directed him too. His eyes quickly gazed at one portion of the sky, not too far away, that was baleful and overcast. His heart was screaming in horror, knowing that Isolde and Yahshi were in great danger in the hands of Maibe...

"I-Izzy…" He clenched his fist and shut his eyes tautly, angrily shaking away tears of fury. "URGH, I knew this would happen! She's in grave danger again and it's all because I let her go on her own!" 

Yugi spotted an alley and decided to take that road for a short cut. He ran through the sinister, bitter and vacant passageway, looking for any unexpected surprises to burst out. 

"_Yugi!"_ Yami Atemu stopped him. 

"What is it, Pharaoh?" 

"_I sense something darkness at work here. I think it would be best if I took over for now."_

"Alright…" His Millennium Puzzle gave out an intense burst of radiance, and swapped him with Atemu. His amethyst eyes flung open to peer into the face of wickedness. 

The Pharaoh glanced around, aware of something nearby. He silently walked through the alley and came to his halt at a hearing of a gag. He peered over the wall's corner, and saw a faded figure of a shadowed animal, tearing away at something that had a humanly silhouette in the darkness. He narrowed his eyes and took a step closer, accidentally snapping a discarded twig. The creature's ears twitched, it paused, and suddenly its head shot up. 

Atemu slowly retreated behind the edge again, listening to the strident snuffles of the dog endeavoring to recognize the strange scent in the air. 

The sound of a serpent's voice whispered in hisses, _**"…The aroma of FRESH BLOOD." **_

The animal immediately spun its head around to be gazing unswervingly at Atemu with glowing ruby eyes of immorality. It wrinkled its snout, veins appearing across its forehead. The unknown beast opened its jaws as blood spurted over its fangs and oozed from of its red mouth.

_**Neighborhood**_

Yahshi slid down the brick wall as she tried to stand. All of the sudden, she was feeling frail and faint distortions in her sight. She verified her wounds, and saw her shoulder was coated in her own blood that tickled down her arm in crimson blankets. Her leg was already leaking, eternally bleeding and was now worst than before. It had almost gone completely numb. Yahshi sighed and raked over the edge of the building. She gasped as she saw the ghastly dog hunting for her scent marks. She hurriedly leaned against the wall and retreated from peering over the building's crook. After three seconds, she glanced over the curve again, and didn't see the dog. 

"He was just there a minute ago..." She mutely gasped. 

To her ill-fated soul, she felt the hot and reeking breath of corpses breathe down her nape, chilling against her flesh. Yahshi frightfully rotated her head…

Anubis raised its head and elevated its crusted lips to demonstrate its blood blotted teeth. Its orb of vivid red light shot wider as an isolated voice murmured before it lunged out at her,

"_**From the light, COMES THE DARK!" **_

_**Dark Alley**_

Yami Atemu slowly backed up while the Great Pharaoh Hound moved forward in a crouched pose. It barked at him while vomiting fluids in the process. The Pharaoh stared at it in disgust. This thing looked practically painted in blood. The dog couldn't wait any longer; its unsatisfied hunger drove him into his nature. The demonic beast ran toward Atemu whilst he sped away. 

_**Neighborhood**_

Yahshi eyed a nearby chunk of shattered wood with nails protruding out of its core next to her. The demon mutt closed in with his fangs sharp and fatal and his eyes beaming with hate. Yahshi swiftly snatched the weapon and jabbed it into the side of the undying creature's face, puncturing one of its eyes. The Pharaoh hound wailed in soreness as its blood spilled and splattered in blotches onto the concrete. 

_**Neighborhood**_

Atemu was on the run down the street, tripping forth and trying to maintain his speed.

That demon mutt was unquestionably gaining on him. He ran past houses that were all unfilled homes on the block. He spotted chains in the grass blades on one of the neighbor's lawns that one of the dogs had managed to wriggle out of. He speedily made a go to grab it. Once he recovered the chains, he turned to face the gory hound in a sandy skid. He immediately threw the weighty shackle around the beast's elongated neck. The dog halted and wrenched, grasping hold of the chain between its fangs and flinging it, as it fastened tighter and tighter around its neck. 

Atemu tried reeling the dog inward so he could attach the chain to a pole. The bloody thing resisted, and yanked the end of the chain to where he heaved Atemu toward him with all the immortal power. Thanks to the haul, the Pharaoh accidentally let go of the chain once his body hit the concrete.

The dog was free of his grip now. It shook out its coat and approached him, drooling with red and licking its dagger teeth while.

"…_**Sa-Ra…"**_

The Pharaoh little by little got up and padlocked eyes with the murderess dog. 

"…_**Sa-Ra broke the mummified wraps of his tomb once…Sa-Ra will not escape us again…"**_

Atemu looked into the fulsome eyes of the blood red Pharaoh hound once he stood over him, thickened blotches of blackened fluids dropping from its panting mouth and to the gray pavement.

Before he was left for mummification, an earsplitting third tone howling was heard not too far off. The undead monstrosity arrested its attack, and angled its ears in alarm. Another shrill baying emanated. The dog looked back to Atemu and back to the direction of the yowl, as if trying to choose to go towards the howl or kill his prey.

Unexpectedly, a honk alarmed them both.

Atemu and the beast stared behind the road just to see a hefty storage truck steering over the hill of the lane. The dog sprinted forward as the headlights shone behind its shadow. A yank stopped it in its place. The chain was tied around the pole beside it. The dog looked to the sidewalk to see Atemu panting desperately as his fixed and strong eyes stared at the beast, awaiting its death.

The Pharaoh Hound snarled at him in ferocity, and just before he was about to tear Atemu to pieces, the large truck slammed into the dog's stomach, bones crackling once its spine shattered. As the truck skidded, it ended up rolling over the dog's abdomen, causing it to regurgitate its black organs from its throat and confirming its death…

Pharaoh Atemu sighed in relief at his fortunate cancel of being someone else's dinner. He got up and turned around to look for Isolde as the truck owner jumped out of the car and looked upon what he hit and what painted his tires red.

Before Atemu began his search, a recognizable yet terrifying scream arrived at his ears. All wind, motion and life stopped. He paused, his eyes becoming wide as his orbs shrunk into purple saucers. His stiff position caused him to hear his heart race with terror. "Yahshi…" 

_**Around the Corner**_

With the final and strained bit of muscle she had, Yahshi limped into an alley-two pathway, away from the blood-spattered dog with one eye. She rammed her back against the wall of the alley with a crooked pipe n her hands, eager that the demon was not on the other end of the two lanes she sat between, because Yahshi was too weak to go on any further. She moaned in twinge as her skin became paler and paler with each and every second exceeding. She slumped to the ground and let a number of tears plunge from her eyes. As the blood leached from her body and surged out to the pavement, she sat there in her own lagoon of red fluids…

"Atemu…where_ are_ you…?" 

The sorceress watched from the crest of a building how pathetic the Thema looked down there, crying for her Pharaoh to save her. _**"My pets can't be stopped and Sa-Ra will not be here to save you again...you know this all too well, that he can not save you from the dark like he couldn't five millennia ago…"**_

_**Alley Pathway**_

"YAHSHI!!" Atemu called out as he ran down the insulting path of a blackened alley like before. He had heard the screech come from a direction near here. His look of calmness of solemn grace had been disturbed. His eyes were enormously wide as he gritted his teeth and ran through the darkness and break of light wildly. _Please be safe, Yahshi. I couldn't deal with you dying for the second time…if something happened I wouldn't know what I'd do…_

_**Between Alley Paths**_

Yahshi caressed her hand over her shoulder to try and control the runny blood; it just seemed to flood more. She was worried of what may happen to her…of her not being able to take care of Isolde and her Pharaoh. Her sight took over heaviness to its hazy vision. _Is this going to be like the first time I died…? Never to see my Pharaoh again…thanks to Maibe and her tricks? Why must everything turn out this way? _She shut her eyes and bit her lip.

"Atemu…" she stared up at skies between the heights of the narrow alley's wall. "…I need you…because you need me." 

"…_**Kill…" **_

Howls exploded in the streets, terrifying her. All her fear drew back to her heart. Quickly, she picked up the silvery pipe, but dropped it thanks to her loss of vigor. 

This time, both dogs were up and alive, out to catch her together.

They ran past the passageway, paws splashing in grimy puddles. 

Yahshi sighed deeply in liberation, catching her heart when she heard the penetration of a snarl before her. 

The beasts growled and cautiously walked closer with stooped backs. Yahshi looked up at them in terror as one seemed to have a deep indentation in the side of its abdomen, blood and intestines already gushing onto the flooring in overflows.

"There are t-two of them? Two statues of Anubis…" she looked at the one with a chain fastened around its neck and bleeding stomach, and then to the one with a bleeding eye; the one she was chased by earlier. "Please…just leave me alone!"

The neck chained dog slobbered blood while the other ogled the fluids tickling down her shoulder. She agonizingly stood up, needing the support of the wall to balance. 

"_**Kill,"**_ A voice boomed. _**"Kill," **_It echoed louder in hisses against the barriers, making Yahshi cringe. _**"Kill, kill her now! Embalm her soul for all eternity!" **_

The dogs crinkled their brows and seized a choked growl, crouching low, and firing off into soaring velocity. She closed her eyes tightly with tears welled under her eyes, ready for the worst. 

_**Alley Pathway**_

He could see and hear something up ahead. Atemu's eyes showed him a faint form of Yahshi in the distance full of darkness. His ears heard the growls of the Pharaoh Hounds getting louder and louder at the second. Combining this knowledge only meant one thing. 

He widened his orbs in grand feeling of loss. "YAHSHI, NO!!" his roar of ache was heard and felt through all.

Yahshi opened her eyes in a strangled gasp, "…Atemu…?" 

One dog sprang and soared down on her from its long jump, the other mounting speed as it opened its mouth to assail. She screeched and backed further against the wall with tears falling from her widely opened eyes. 

Just in time, Atemu stood in front of her to shield her from the demons.

The hound devils unintentionally slashed their razor sharp talons across Atemu's chest, cleave ping his shirt and creamy flesh. (A/N: Everybody gasp!) 

Yahshi's orb dilated as she stared at Atemu's back, her breath catching on hold. Her heart seemed to impede, more tears falling from her motionless face. "…A-Atemu…" 

He stood their with his eyes spacious and empty as his black shirt was torn through… and scraped across by four isolated bloodlines that had reached past his flesh. 

Everything was silent…

Yami Yugi Pharaoh Atemu fell to his knees and lastly to the ground. 

Yahshi slid down the wall until she fell to the floor, tears dripping from her nose while her eyes gazed into the void of nothingness. "…No…" she clenched her teeth as the light in her eyes shone brightly, quickly squeezing them shut as she wheezed, "SA-RA!!"

The dogs stared at the Pharaoh spiraled out across the ground in astonish. Their master said nothing about embalming the Pharaoh. Both demons slowly looked up at Yahshi. Plans have changed by their will, and they shall have a double feast. 

Yahshi was about to crawl over to her beloved's lifeless form until the hound with the punctured eye backed her away hungrily. She immediately crawled backwards, trying to escape from the immortal one. 

While the other demon did its part, the second one stared down at the comatose Pharaoh in some unfinished business. Gushing fluids dripped from its closed mouth. In a shock before Yahshi's eyes, she watched the ever so strong-willed Pharaoh lift himself from horrible injury. She gasped as the hungered dog pushed him back into the earth with his large blood soaked paw. Little by little, it rode its lips to expose curving fangs, slowly reaching out for Atemu as a storm of enveloping tanned bandages whirled behind the back of the dog, getting ready to mummify the past Pharaoh of Egypt in demonic curses. 

"_**All Kings and Queens must be respected or envied…"**_ the serpent voice rumored.

Yahshi witnessed the scene in repulsion, and she could feel her heart grow in a dreadful hatred blended with regret. She kicked the one-eyed Anubis in the snout with her uninjured foot and quickly grabbed her silver pipe. Yahshi closed her eyes tightly and held her pipe over the dog's head above Atemu when the cycle of wraps tried to bind around his wounded body.

"GET OFF HIM!!" she swung and hit the neck chained dog _**hard**_ in the skull to where it sent the creature flying.

The impact was so brutal it coiled the demon's neck all the way around its body. It whined and bawled in pain. 

Atemu was already struggling to lift himself up once more. Sweat swayed down his face as his breathing became overwrought. His breast was dripping with the chunky red liquid that ran his body flow. By now, the pain was so excruciating that he should have given in and stayed down, died in defeat.

Even if it seemed strange and impossible, the only thing keeping him going and to control his strong will was the image of Yahshi, for his past visions were quickly flashing random scenes of former him and Yahshi five thousand years ago, echoing his own promises to her in his mind. 

He choked on each breath, only managing to pant out her name.

She paused as he called out her name, letting her guard down. The one-eyed demon tackled her to the ground, driving her head into the concrete with its forepaw, scraping her face. 

The dog that had been hit before got up from the ground and twisted its neck back around in the right adjustment as a few crackles sounded off in its joints. 

The one-eyed Anubis slid its elongated purpled tongue into her throat, soiled saliva seeping onto her lips as she gagged and sobbed. 

Atemu stared into the abyss as he looked up to see this. His eye turned into a wider shade of violet. He crawled quickly forward, struggling to run, but continued to slip. The moment he approached, the dog retracted from Yahshi and opened its mouth to release a threatening bark directed at Atemu. 

Secretly, Atemu held the pipe in his own injured hand; he chucked the stretched pipe at the dog, bashing it in the bony-blooded body with a yelp.

Quickly Atemu fell to his knees in an ached weakness, sweat dripping and dampening the pavement in black blotches. His main strength for survival was fading; Yahshi. He looked up with a stressful quake in his once calm orbs, breath rasping as he stared wide-eyed over his queen's body spiraled out over the ground in bloody scars all over. Her eyes were broad and bloodshot, but her body was motionless as a swarm of flies of the deceased surfaced from her mouth. 

Atemu quickly crawled over to her in more distress, finally taking the traumatized girl into his arms. He watched her vomit and splutter black muck before her head eventually fell limp. 

The calm shield of strong-will and hope shattered within his eyes. "…Omorose…" he wheezed in the pungent air.

Carefully with eyelids dropping in a depressing agony, he pulled her to him, her face veiled behind his shoulder as he rested his temple against the side of hers.

The two devils growled furiously at the young Pharaoh caressing Yahshi so intimately in his arms. They closed in to surely kill him without any more inferences. 

Atemu squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, tears straining to roll down his face as he wouldn't let them. He grunted, taking a fistful of her hair between his fingers, struggling to forget old details coming back to his mind. 

Flashing visions were strung before him. 

The first visualized a wooden door automatically shutting and locking as there stood Yahshi with eyes of fear as she clutched the black latch she couldn't lift. Tears had stained her cheeks; she must've been crying earlier. _**"…Atemu…?"**_ she begged. _**"Atemu! Please, Atemu, don't lock this door on me! PLEASE don't leave me with her! Maibe's a TRAITOR!"**_ she banged the door viciously with the palm of her hand. _**"Sa-Ra!! Please, believe me and OPEN THE DOOR!!"**_ she cried against the wood, practically sobbing.

Darkness in two forms stood a few feet behind her in hooded cloaks, gazing as it watched her scream for someone to bring her salvation.

The queen spun around when the voice of shadows chanted her last name in dark wedges. The scene went black when a scream of murder was heard…

Atemu paused. A single tear ran down his frozen face, the color draining from it.

Automatically, he thought of how he was failing her, now for the third time, even after he swore on his life. He never keeps his promises…

The dogs barked to get his attention, foaming incessantly with blood. 

Once he watched that blood spill to the ground, his thoughts focused on what they had done. Atemu laid Yahshi back down on the concrete after he kissed her forehead, his blonde bangs shadowing his eyes to hide the fury appearing in them. 

The cloaked figure prowled on the roof. The object screeched in a high-pitched tone as it leaned over the crown, quickly moving out of sight.

Atemu boldly stood himself up, not looking upon such demons before him. The demons savagely barked more, then suddenly whimpered, as if feeling something was not quite right. 

The clenched fists began to tremble in a powerful hate. **"How dare you insolent monstrosities do this to her…" **his voice seemed to whisper deeply at first, and then thundered as he faced them, **"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO HER!!" **The tone in his savage voice literally roared throughout the land. By the loudness of his roar, he made sure the world would feel his pain. 

The dogs backed up in fear of him, glancing at each other with their red eyes blazing. They mustn't fear the Son of Ra…must they?

Atemu had gotten upset many times before, but what burned in the core of his heart was something deeper and more serious than just getting upset. Anger, hatred, wrath, fury, no, none of those words could depict what he was feeling ever so darkly inside his heart.

"**You will regret such absence of mind, TO MESS WITH MY THEMA OF EGYPT, YOU WILL REGRET DEARLY FOR THIS, MOCK MY WORDS. YOU-WILL-PAY." **The eye of Horus flamed into Yami Atemu's forehead, emitting an earth-shattering light.

The bloody animals didn't know how to go about their plans now. They were acknowledged by Maibe and asked to plead embalmment over the still living Pharaoh and his queen, but now they thought of going nowhere near the Pharaoh, the son of Ra. 

Both Gods of the Dead tucked their tails between their legs and cringed in fear, whining as a screening burst of light exploded from within the Millennium Puzzle, lighting up the section of the block. **"NEVER AGAIN SHALL YOU LIVE TO TAUNT AND HURT US! I'LL BANISH YOU, BANISH YOU ALL TO THE SHADOWS WHERE YOU WERE BORN!!" ** He flung out his hand, Ra's eye embedded in his brow becoming a variety of colors and his own eyes an insane dilate. **"ROT IN DARKENSS WHERE YOU DEMONS BELONG!"**

The light overpowered even him, forcing Atemu to force his might against all his uncontrollable power. He gritted his teeth as his eyebrows interlaced down on his forehead, eyes wide saucers as he gave out a long lasting cry of agony, his own corrupted anger bringing forth a power that flowed through his body and directed at the demons before him. This attempt wasn't even something he was controlling…

"_**HALT, ATEMU!" **_

Atemu's illumination, that took him everything to sum up, quickly diminished in the palm of an unwanted enemy. 

"…**Maibe…"** his orbs nevertheless stayed wide plates. 

The sorceress's crimson eyes gazed at him demonically from the shadow of her hood. The dogs took trotted up to Maibe and stood at her side, sitting their rear on the pavement in a straight stature like the statues in the cemeteries.

"_**You still haven't learned to control the darkness within you? Not even after the King of Atlantis's tricks to bring out your dark side?"**_ she shook her head in pity. _**"…The darkness inside your heart is what will destroy you, Pharaoh. It's what destroys everyone, and eats them away inside and out."**_

"**DON'T you even TRY to explain **_**MY**_** feelings and **_**MY**_** inner SELF, MAIBE. You know**_** NOTHING**_** about me, OR what I FEEL inside. NO ONE knows what I feel but ME! AND ALL THAT LIES WITHIN IS THE DESIRE TO SEE YOU BANISHED INTO THE SHADOW REALMS, **_**FOREVER**_

Maibe frowned at him and looked to the dogs. _**"I see you've met my loyal servants, God of the Dead Anubis and King of the Dead Osiris, hm?" **_She stroked the sticky blood on her dog's head, getting her fingertips reddened. _**"You see, even **__we __**can persuade Gods into our perspective of the depraved son of Ra, traitor of Egypt!" **_

"**WHY DID YOU SEND THEM TO HUNT US DOWN?! TO EMBALM US?!" **his wrath deepened within his glare. **"ARE YOU NOW TOO AFRAID TO FACE US HEAD ON?!" **

"_**Well they have to eat, Sa-Ra. The only thing that keeps them living is feasting on the living themselves. They are god and king of the dead. That's how the immortal feast. Also…I wanted Yahshi out of the way of getting what I wanted." **_

"**I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, SO WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST GO AFTER ME AND NOT PUT HER THROUGH SO MUCH PAIN!?" **

Brown lips with a shimmer glistened against the edge of their dancing smile. _**"Because my Pharaoh, I told you, I want to make you suffer by hurting the ones you love so dearly…and then it'll force you to hurt yourself." **_

Atemu stared into the side of her face, the only side that wasn't shadowed. "…Hurt…?"

"_**But, for now,"**_ Maibe turned away, looking behind her shoulder with her entirely shadowed face. _**"…I'm going to leave you be with your Thema. I want you two to get closer,"**_ a red rose bud appeared in her palm. _**"And the closer you get…" **_viciously she crushed the peddles in her fist. _**"…The more sufferable you'll die away when I take her away."**_ An insane laugh followed. _**"WE shall be seeing you again." **_ She vanished into the darkness with her hounds following. Before the representing Osiris Pharaoh Hound left, he gave out a savage bark in Atemu's face to spill his view of the Pharaoh as a disgrace, then disappeared.

All of Atemu's pain, hate, sorrow, confusion, turned numb throughout his body. He slumped down to his knees, eyes spaced out in the void. His head bowed low as he continued to gaze into the abyss of darkness, his heart, not his body, in pain. 

Amber eyes slowly fluttered as the black eyelashes blinked rapidly, but not enough to wear off that exhausted look in the eyes' distant lights. A breath of soreness was heard.

Atemu jerked, and looked behind him in alarm just to watch in wide eyes as Yahshi stirred in her position, feebly coughing whilst wiping her mouth.

Her Pharaoh rushed to her side. 

She flinched when she felt warm fingers stroke the watery substance on her lips, finally shooting her eyes open in distress, but at last only to see her Pharaoh there before her. "…Atemu…?" carefully she slid herself up the brick wall, trying to reach height with him as they sat erect from each other. She opened her eyes weakly again and smiled upon him.

Atemu watched the radiance in her eyes sparkle. His own eyes gentled. "…Yahshi…" leisurely his hand slid up her wounded ankle. "Thank goodness you weren't mummified…"

Yahshi giggled under a wince and leant her cheek into the wall, admiring him so deeply despite her pain. "I thought I'd never see you again after death…Son of Ra." 

Yami Atemu shook his head. "Never again will those memories occur, Yahshi." His eyes darted down to her shoulder swathed in her own layers of bulky blood. All his happiness weakened away and was replaced with reminiscences of him failing to guard her from harm. His eyes widened in panic.

She furrowed her eyebrows and quickly placed her hand over the wound, wincing at the pain caused by the touch. "I-It's nothing…really." 

Atemu looked worriedly into her eyes, seeing the sweat clung to her now pale face. Her breathing became more rapid. "You don't look so well…" He took her hand off her shoulder. His wide eyes then met her bleeding leg. "Yahshi, this is serious, I'm going to take you to the hospital right away." 

"No…" she weakly argued. "I'll be fine, please!"

"Don't say anything else, I'm taking you _**now **_and that's final." He stood up and looked down the path. "I'll carry you there since you're in no condition to be walking."

She frowned, having the energy to carry out the argument. "I can walk on my own and the wound isn't even all that bad!" She stood up, losing balance as she tried to use the brick wall for support. "S-See?" But after two seconds she collapsed onto the floor. Some tears tickled down her face as the pain overwhelmed her. She began to breathe heavily, holding her leg.

Yami Atemu bent down next to her. "I need to carry you." 

"Atemu, you're in a bad state yourself, you're the one who's in no condition to be carrying me." She looked down at his black shirt that was clawed through and had ripped away some skin. His chest was bleeding a little. She looked into his purple eyes, fear flashing in them. "How can you carry me when you're wounded like that?" 

He softened his eyes and looked lovingly at her. "You don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine." 

Yahshi couldn't resist that loving smile he gave her, even through pain, it overwhelmed her. Off guard, he lifted her up and put her arms around his neck. From there, he swept her off her feet and into a carrying position in his arms. 

She looked into his eyes one last time, and slowly rested her head against his chest, drifting off into her weakness. As pain and infection seemed to progress, she whispered some things to Atemu, in a hoarse tone of tiredness. "All of the sudden…" she smiled feebly. "…I…I don't feel the pain anymore…maybe, maybe it's because I'm in your arms again…and maybe because I'm close to your heart again…" the light in her honeyed eyes shimmered as she closed her eyes slowly. "Thank you...Atemu."

Yami Atemu smiled down on her and held her closer to his chest. "I won't except a gratitude, Omorose Thema. I don't do it to be thanked; I do it so you'll be safe…and never have to leave me again." His smile suddenly faded…

In minutes, with the words still echoing in her mind, he was down by the nearest hospital.


	12. Your Destiny Is Forlorn

_**Your Destiny Is Forlorn; Have to Live Till It's Undone**_

_**Disclaimer**__: Songs used – _

"_I'd Give My Heart – Within Temptation"_

"_Haunted – Evanesence"_

The twilight was filled with the frosty icy chill that haunted Domino City. Rigid pouring rain battered the ground to add orchestra while lightning and thunder growled across the side of the earth. Such storm and wintry air was a bad combination, for even the sky was screaming and crying for the incident well on its way to occur...

_**Domino Hospital**_

In her hospital bed of tangled sheets, Yahshi was resting with her wounds bandaged and thoroughly cleaned. She had been in hypnoses of sleep since the last words she said to him before they reached the hospital.

Atemu sat in the chair beside the bed as she continued to relax.

The nurses had doctored to his chest lesions and wrapped his breast in white bandages.

He stared into Yahshi's gentle, still face, wondering when she would ever wake. From his view, she looked peaceful and in no pain what so ever. This calmed his heart very little.

Atemu was nonetheless concerned with how deep her wounds had taken affect. Though, it was strange: the purple veins that showed signs of infection had instantly faded and healed her leg, however it was still in ache. The incessant bleeding of her shoulder had even dramatically stopped.

**ATEMU'S POINT OF VIEW**

"…Yahshi…." Her name escaped my lips in a tone of immortal sorrow while I rested my eyes, pondering…

My fingers blindly interlaced with her clammy pale ones.

Why….are we here? Why do we reside in the vessels of two innocent teenagers who have yet to see the world? These questions I have dreamt of since Yugi and I became one. It seems that even the Gods want us forever mummified.

_(Song, "Jillian: I'd Give My Heart by Within Temptation" ) _

_**/I've been dreaming for so long**_

_**To find the meaning**_

_**To understand**_

_**The**_

_**Secret**_

_**Of life**_

_**Why am I here…**_

_**To try**_

_**Again…?/**_

My eyes pried open upon my "Queen". Lines wrinkled down on my brow.

It felt as if she were slipping further and further away from me the tighter my grip grew on her hand. The truth is…

This gap between us is causing me to die inside.

It surprises me how…little I know of my Queen, yet I can still remember the tickles of the sensation of what we had back in Egypt, between the pyramids. I have experienced dwelling and instant care for her, eagerness for protection over her, and temptation of warmth from her, but this spacious gap that I feel…it's penetrating me from thoroughly finding the last shard to fill in my heart with. Just as I'm about to soulfully obtain the love from my Queen, the shackles of chains weigh me down from truly reaching her…

…Why…?

_**/Will I always, will you always**_

_**See the truth when it stares you in the**_

_**Face…?**_

_**Will ever, will I never**_

_**Free myself by breaking**_

_**These chains…?/ **_

My fingers ran through the daylight-colored strands of her bronzed bangs, reminding me of how what we've been through so far together in this present future is all I need to remember and worry about right now.

All that matters is that we have to live on in this world until our destinies are fulfilled.

I could imagine the wings upon myself, cracked and cheap glass representing how I pretended and struggled to be a guardian to her…

It was my fault her destiny was sealed when I couldn't rescue her from the darkness like I've been trying to for all these centuries.

_**/Give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

_**I'd turn it back**_

_**It's my fault**_

_**Your destiny is FORLORN**_

_**I have to live till its UNDONE**_

Even though my original life was in the pyramids and temples of Egypt, I've seen quite the amount of kingdoms in this modern day of life…

Kingdoms of Power, Kingdoms of Riches, Kingdoms of Greed, Kingdoms of Darkness…and Kingdoms of Friendship…

I had waited through many seasons of time in the temple Grandpa had founded me in for ages, eager to fulfill my destiny and see the modern age.

_**I've been living for so long**_

_**Many seasons**_

_**Passed me by**_

_**I've seen kingdoms**_

_**Through ages**_

_**Rise and fall**_

_**I've seen it**_

_**All…**_

All of the sudden, all the lights flickered out in a minute's notice. The first thing I heard was a dangerous growl. My eyes looked to the open door that gradually opened and led to the dark chaos of the abandoned hallway. The lightning brightened the room for one split second. But during that one second, the Anbuis God of death was revealed, standing there in front of the doorway with murderess eyes staring through my soul and its outer limits….

_**I've seen the horror**_

_**Seen the wonders**_

_**Happening just in front of my**_

_**Eyes…**_

My heart filled with, not fear, but hatred. I glared into the darkness of which that animal stood. "Filthy creature…" I sneered under my breath like I wanted to kill.

The Eye of Ra illuminated beneath my bangs. I stood in readiness to terminate the demon for all eternity. This would be for YAHSHI…this'll make some things RIGHT.

_**Will I ever,**_

_**Will I never,**_

_**Free myself by making it right?**_

A whisper haunted the room, catching my attention. I couldn't understand the words, for the whispers seemed hoarse and speaking in another language. Growls and snarls of hunger rumbled within my enemy's throat. It crouched as if the haunting ghostly whispers were chanting and egging it on to attack.

As soon as the lights were back on, the air and hospital was again brightened, and the monster and whispers disappeared instantly.

My rasping growl was followed by my deepened glare of fury as I clenched my teeth, sweat clung to my face. My eye twitched as it all brought back to the subject of my failure of being my queen's guardian angel.

There was great possibility that I could have not been there to save Yahshi again. How many times must I fail? How many times must I lose her? Soon enough she'll be slipping out of my grasp and into the darkness for the second time. I can't seem to keep my promises to her anymore…I lost her 5 Millennia and history repeats the fate of death.

_**Give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

_**I'd turn it back,**_

_**It's my fault**_

_**Your destiny is FORLORN**_

_**I have to live till its undone**_

_**I'd give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

_**I'll turn it back and then at last**_

_**I'd be**_

_**On my way…**_

I leaned on the side of her bed and held my head in regret.

_**Jillian…**_

"Yahshi…" I grunted, my eyes squeezed tightly and scratched through my tri-colored locks with my fingers in irritation and desperation.

Our love and all our hopes ended so long ago…because of me. Our HOMELAND and FRIENDS and family of Egypt…sent to an early graveyard, because of me…

_**Our dream**_

_**Ended**_

_**Long **_

_**Ago…**_

It seems I can not forget what is painful but I can forget what is useful and sometimes pleasuring. It is a pity how life slaps me around and drags my friends along with _**my**_ agony and issues. The edges of my notions scraped the corners of my mind…aching and hurting me as the thoughts and painful memories never went away. I wish I could remember it ALL.

_**All of our stories**_

_**And all of our glories**_

_**I held so dear…**_

Even if she was alright and safe from harm at the MOMENT, the thought of losing her haunted me once more. The fact that I was losing the grip of my promise haunted me a thousand times before. That witch said she was aiming for her, wanting us to reach closer, so it would be even more painful when she separated us. She wanted to hurt the ones I cared about…starting with my Yahshi.

And with the way things are between us now, I…I don't know if…we can overpower Maibe.

_**We won't be together**_

_**Forever and**_

_**Ever**_

I thought to myself how I didn't want her to ever be afraid again…she shouldn't be afraid as long as I am here with her. I won't let fear or danger bestow her death more than once.

An uncontrollable tear leaked down my clammy cheek.

_**No **_

_**More**_

_**Tears…**_

Losing my confidence, I bent into her and spread apart strands of her bangs to seal her forehead's flesh with my warming lips.

_**/I'll always be here…**_

_**Till…**_

_**The…**_

_**End…**_

"I promise you…I'll rewrite history for you…I can't depart from this world, until both your past and Egypt's is undone. Everything…is in my debt, because everything remains my fault. Then at last, my spirit will be put to rest."

_**Give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

_**I'd turn it back**_

_**It's my fault**_

_**Your destiny is FORLORN**_

_**Have to live till its UNDONE**_

_**I'd give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

_**I'll turn it back**_

_**And then at last**_

_**I'll be**_

_**On my way…**_

_(End of Song)_

"…Atemu…"

I gasped and retracted, seeing the awake Queen staring loving into my surprised eyes. I completely forgot all of what I was thinking about when I saw her light amber eyes sparkle with joy.

I smiled and tried to say something but no voice came through with my shock. I gave up immediately, and just gentled the light in my eyes, letting her know I was glad she was alright.

Yahshi's beautiful smile left her as her fingers slid down my chest. "…Why's there so much hopelessness and sadness in your eyes…?"

My eyes widened, that shimmering hopelessness and sadness dancing in my eyes with their rays of beams. "…Sadness?"

Her own eyes seemed to turn a darker shade of misery. "…You never looked like that before, Atemu. You were always so strong, and fearless in the eyes…now…you don't look like Atemu anymore." She stirred a little. "…Is something wrong?"

My eyes looked away from hers; trying to assure myself I wasn't feeling what she said. "…No, its fine…"

"Sa-Ra Atemu…" Pause. "…you're a fool to have done what you did…"

I looked to her confused more than ever. "…Done what?"

She looked deeply into my eyes. "…Risk your life for me the way you did…"

I raised my eyebrows at how surprised she seemed to be. "What ELSE should I have done, then?"

"Seek out other solutions besides recklessness." Her eyes looked away as I drowned in the luminosity against them that trembled as if water was making their radiance seem moist against her amber orbs. "You scared me more than those demons did back there. What if I were to lose you the next time you attempt another rescue?" Her fingers clutched the white sheets. "And if I did…what would I do with myself?"

My own eyes looked away from hers in seriousness. "Didn't I vow to you, Yahshi?"

I could hear her motion in sitting up. "Y-yes…"

"Do you remember what that vow was?"

"…You promised to never let anything happen… to me…"

"And since I promised you so," I looked back to her troubled face. "I can not and _**will not**_ break it."

Yahshi gave me a distressed look with a pair of uncertain auburn eyes. "Then you don't know the meaning of promises, do you? Promises are meant to be broken, my King of Beauty. I-It's the new thing going around nowadays."

I only raised my eyebrows in amusement. "Oh is it now?"

"Well, that's why they exist, right?"

"My promise was from my love for you. So is that why it exists? To be felt but then broken?" I smiled to see what she would say.

All she did was look down in shame. "…Sometimes if it's not meant to be…"

I raised my hand to her chin, making her look into my eyes. "So are we not meant to be…?"

She gave me a fearful toss of the head. "No! I mean we are! It's just…"

I was a bit afraid of what she was going to say now. "…It's just, what?"

"Your promise won't give me any salvation, my Sa-Ra of deceased Egypt. You promise you'd give your life to protect me, and when your life is given, what's going to happen to me? You'll no longer be here to stay by my side when I need you the most. I need more than just your word of protection; I need you…you to be by my side just to be here, not just to protect me. Even if you fulfill your promise to me, or even if you don't, either way I'd already be dying…"

I watched as a tear dampened the cover she clutched. My eyes gazed up to her face in severe worry. Was she crying because of me?

"ATEMU it wouldn't be fair…you know I might as well be dead if you fulfilled your oaths! If you died to save me, nothing would matter anymore…I would never forgive myself for letting you. Because of you, I'd be ashamed of my life when it'll be empty once more! I've waited five thousand years just to see you…and finally after the destruction of Egypt, I found you…and then immediately lost you the same way I did in Egypt. You can't let that happen again! You ca—"

I stopped her with a louder tone, "You sound like _**me**_…mourning over something that hasn't even happened yet. Please, don't doubt me." I crossed my arms. "I told you I would give you my life _if it came to that_, but protecting you didn't mean that I'd _let_ myself die in the process. Who'd protect you if I did? Really, you take things too literal." I smirked at her.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she tried to chuckle, quickly wiping it away. "Yes, I guess I was overreacting…but really, you'll promise more than just to be my body guard, won't you?"

I gazed at her in wonder and pity why her eyes looked so sad and worried now. My hand stroked the side of her scalp. "…That's why I'm your Pharaoh, right?"

"And I your Queen…" her cheek rested in my hand as she closed her eyes.

"It was a solemn oath to each other we both made…"

"Always be there for one another, even if what makes another happy will make the other sad, and protect each other even in afterlife…"

I nodded.

A small laughter escaped her. "We rushed in so quickly, didn't we?"

"Yes, very. But it was the rules of marriage and wedding arrangements in Egypt back then. If you hadn't married me, you would've only seen me in war one last time with your new husband…"

Yahshi's brown eyes looked once more into mine. "I'm so glad I came to you the day before my marriage…all this would've never happened if I hadn't. Just imagine we would never be together if it hadn't been for that one night…"

"I hate to disappoint you, but I can't imagine anything without you, Omorose…time wouldn't make sense if I could." I leaned into her, capturing her lips smoothly, then releasing as I smiled, for feeling her so close to me was marvelous…

Even with her happiness on the outside, I knew she had a sore heart on the inside, and I think I know why or at least I have a hunch.

My fingers stroked the length of her golden hair with my lips close to hers as I whispered, "And I'm not letting you go once more." My lips lightly stroked hers in a kiss that I wanted to ease her sorrow and pain in.

"Forgive me…" she parted from our kiss, suddenly looking down. "…I haven't been trusting in you lately…"

My smile faded as so did the serene look upon my eyes. "…What do you mean?"

Sadly her eyes ran back up into mine. "Five thousand years ago…you would say these exact words to me, you would swear on your life to protect me from the darkness looming over Egypt the same way you are now…and I," it seemed she couldn't speak anymore. "I'm not saying you betrayed me, I'm only saying…what if…"

The rain continued to cry outside. I watched the clouds shed their tears against the class windows, mourning as thunder struck. My eyes deepened in thought of what I should tell her.

Immediately, I got off the bed and watched up close as the tears of the sky blurred the glass and the view of city.

"You're thinking about leaving…aren't you?"

My eyes narrowed deeply under my eyelids as I gazed intently out into the storm.

"Why can't you take me with you?"

"You're injured."

I could feel her glower piercing deep into my back. "And you're not? Pharaoh, let me come with you." Her voice seemed to be breaking down.

"I'm not risking your health, so please, don't ask me to again…." My tone fell into a worrisome accent.

"I am just fine, Atemu. It's you that's not. Besides," and I also felt the innocent look on her face as she continued, "Without you here to protect me, Maibe will have more of a greater advantage to get rid of me easily. Don't you want to protect me, bestow your oath to me?"

I turned directly to Yahshi. _Why is she smiling so happily?_ I suddenly was on to her little game. She was just trying so hard to get me into taking her with me, but she was also stating the facts.

"So, Yugi's YAMI, will you take me with you…?"

I thought for awhile and looked away from her eyes in shame and defeat. "…Fine…"

"YAY!" she raised her arm with a cuffed fist in a sign of excitement I suppose, suddenly cringing in pain.

I stared at her perplexedly and soon sighed…

_**Game shop (END OF P.O.V.)**_

Back at the Game shop, Yugi's grandpa and friends were still in the living room worried out of their minds about Yugi and Isolde.

When the night seemed to get colder during their discussion of what happened to them to be holding them up so long, Joey and the guys had headed downstairs to retrieve blankets from the cabinets in the back. As Wheeler shuffled through the junk in the upper cabinet, the jingle of the gold bell caused him panic as boxes and wool blankets fell upon him.

Duke Devilin looked around in the darkness, trying to see the unexpected visitor. "What was that?"

"Shut-up will ya'?" Joey frowned up at the dice boy with the blanket over his head like a cloak. Sneakily he looked around the edge of the wall, brown blanket over his slumped figure as he held a metal bat in his hands.

When he heard a voice call out, "Joey?" and the footsteps approach him, he immediately grabbed the stranger by the neck collar and jerked him off the ground. "Tryna sneak into a store and steal some cards, eh? Well not with the main guard dog Joey Wheela here!" in a way, he had offended himself. Quickly he lifted his bat, ready to swing.

Suddenly, Joey felt himself being brutally kneed in the stomach, causing him to topple over in gags and strangled coughs for air.

The lights were quickly switched on, revealing Yahshi standing in front of her Pharaoh in a deep and hateful glower, lights dancing within her eyes viciously as she gazed down on Joey.

Joey blinked dully. "Oops…ehehe, sorry Yug." He stood up, all of the sudden pointing at Yahshi. "But tha' heck is YOUR problem, girlie?! You tryna KILL me?! Did Jackie Chan teach ya' those moves or WHAT?!"

Yahshi's glare seemed to deepen as she growled.

Atemu just gazed at her in oddness, seeing her mood change so threateningly. "Yahshi!" he called her loudly in a hurry.

The penetrating stare in her eyes quickly disappeared as she blinked when her name was heard, as if the entire time it was a trance. "Oh, I'm-I'm sorry…" the bangs shadowed her eyes. "…I just felt…danger when you threatened to strike him…" her fingers held the loose strands of hair beside her face.

Atemu furrowed his eyebrows, secretly amazed at how he triggered her moods when it came to harm done to him. Now who's being overprotective?

_**Next Day (High School)**_

After Yugi's classes, he met all his friends at the lunch tables again. His face lit up brightly when he saw Isolde there also, laughing shyly as Joey grinned his broad smile. Though, Duke was delivering her a red rose as he kissed her hand, only to receive a sweat drop upon Izzy's head.

"Oh, hey-hey! It's Yugi!" Tristan waved from the lunch tables.

"Hi guys, what's…going…on?" his eyes fell upon Duke who was still in his heart-eyes stage over Isolde who was cringing in uneasiness.

"Same old boring high school junk we do everyday." Joey sighed in disappointment. "So you _**two**_"—he looked from Isolde to Yugi. —"gonna do anything special after school?"

Yugi looked away and as Izzy looked down, both full of pink shades. Though, Izzy's eyes had a disappointed glow in them.

Yugi shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, not sure."

"If you do," Joey widely grinned. "Can we watch?"

Yugi gave him a frown with his face still lighting with red. "JOEY!! We're not gonna do THAT!!"

"Okay fine! Can _**I**_ watch?"

"LAY OFF!" the gang yelled unison.

"AIIGHT! I give up! Jus' don't you all go jumpin' me!" Joey pouted.

"Good boy!" Duke slyly smiled as he patted his head. "But maybe we can put a muzzle and leash on you instead!" he teased with a snicker.

"Shut up and stop feeding off of Kaiba already, aiight?" Joey fumed at him being referred to a stupid dog, snapping at Duke's hand.

"Bad dog!" Duke discouraged, waving his finger around. "No treats for you!"

"URRRGHH!! I ain't no mutt!"

Tea rolled her eyes. "Tell that to Kaiba…"

Joey returned attention back to his favorite love birds. "ANYWAY"—he looked at both Yugi and Isolde, pointing sheepishly—"you two would make a great couple!"

"Joey!" Yugi mumbled feeling like his friend was exposing him too much.

"I'm just sayin'!" he grinned. "It would be nice if you two were togetha, riiiiight?"

Yugi continued to be embarrassed and angry all at once. "What do you think you're doing?!" he whispered behind Joey.

Izzy blinked three times with her cerulean eyes fixed on Yugi. She stared at him for a bit longer, trying to figure out what was going on before looking out to the window in much thought, then shaking her head in disbelief.

_**Game shop (After school)**_

Yugi rambled around his room looking for the misplaced. The Pharaoh's spirit watched him search under his bed, closet, drawers, and table for whatever he was hounding for.

"I swear I had it yesterday!" Yugi scratched his tri-colored head hysterically.

Yami Atemu quirked his eyebrow. _"What…exactly are you looking for?" _

"AH-HA!!" Yugi shouted as he held the misplaced item up, scaring his Yami half to death. "I found it!"

"_Found WHAT…?" _

Yugi dropped it on the sheets of his bed.

Atemu peered over Yugi's shoulder. _"A catalog? You went through all that trouble and screaming to find a catalog?" _

"Well it had an advertisement of something that I wanted to get for someone." He turned to the page of what included the special gift.

"_Huh…"_ Atemu took a closer look. It was a golden heart locket pendant. The advertisement claimed to engrave the name of the owner and the giver on the locket as a bonus. _"You're going to get that for Isolde?"_

"Yup!" Yugi blushed with a smile. "I really wanted to show Izzy what our friendship—"

"_Love."_ Atemu corrected.

"….R-Represented by getting this for her."

The Pharaoh quickly smiled. _"Well, I think it's an excellent gift for her."_

"You're right! Besides, what would a girl want more?"

"_A following first kiss…"_

Yugi's eyelids flattened in sarcasm. "…Ha ha…very FUNNY, Pharaoh."

"_It wasn't implied to be."_

"Yeah? Well…I…!" Yugi frowned at him. "You know what your problem is? You always know what to say…and I don't!"

The Pharaoh only smiled proudly. _"It's quite my gift."_

Yugi looked up in notions. "Hey that reminds me," a sly smirk. "How are things going with Yahshi and all?"

"_Good as always, why do you ask?"_ Secretly, Atemu felt himself lying.

"Weeeeell…" Yugi childishly smiled. "I was wondering maybe you two can go out on a date later."

Yami Atemu found himself blushing severely now as he jumped up. _"A date?! You mean romantic or social days arranged to where you go somewhere with someone, on that specific dated day of the week?" _

There was a long silence…

"…We're still talking about dates right…?" Yugi asked completely confused at whatever his yami just said.

The Pharaoh opened his mouth to speak. _"But…" _

"But what? You two are married for Christ's sake!"

"_Yeah b-but…what are we going to do? I mean, that one night…that was…that was only a few minutes, this is a whole day!" _

"Think of something romantic to do!"

"_Like what?!"_

Yugi stroked his chin. "Uhhh…I dunno…"

"…_Thanks Yugi, you're a big help."_ Atemu mockingly smirked.

"I'm trying! But really, you two should go out on a romantic evening just so you can have fun together without an evil sorceress trying to kill you both off. It'll be to relive your moments like you did in Egypt."

Atemu's eyes widened as he remembered Maibe saying,

"_**I want you two to get closer, and the closer you get…The more sufferable you'll die away when I take her away."**_

_**Living room**_

Isolde was busy taking out folded clothes from her bag that Atemu had retrieved when he took Yahshi to the hospital.

The five millennia old spirit of the Queen looked at her vessel-host in confusion as she seemed so intent. _"What particular clothing are you looking for?" _

"Oh, just clothes for a date." She smiled as she set a pile of dresses to the side.

"_AH! A date between you and Yugi! Way to go, Partner!"_ Yahshi gasped.

"No silly, it's one between you and Atemu!"

"_OHHH…huh?" _a thousand question marks emerged over her head.

"Well, why not? You two should really go out more and you haven't been able to do that lately, right?"

"_Well…I suppose not…" _

"Then you can go this evening."

"_Why, though?!"_ a huge blush streaked over her face as she held her fist to her mouth, trying to contain her nerves.

"To spice up the romance!" Izzy giggled in her throat secretly.

"_Spice it up?"_ Yahshi panicked. "_What do you mean 'spice up the romance'? There is nothing to spice up!" _

"Oh don't be SILLY! Of course there is! To give you guys a chance to bring back those deep feelings you had like back in Egypt, because I have a feeling even though the Pharaoh is reunited with you, he's forgotten the old times you had during your marriage, and so have you, Yahshi….you two have forgotten each other…" Izzy pulled out her outfit above her head as she admired it. "FOUND IT!!"

"_Found WHAT?"_ Yahshi peered over her shoulder, anxious levels dropping to disappointment. _"That? Why that?" _

"Because it's perfecto for you, that's why." Izzy pulled something from her sock.

Yahshi sighed at this "date" nonsense.

"Here, take this." Izzy held a duel monsters card in front of the spirit.

Yahshi looked down on it in uneasiness. _"Your mother gave this to you before she passed, why give it to me? Don't you treasure it? It's all you have that reminds you of good deeds in the past…" _

"I do, but… it would be nice for you and Atemu to have. You two will surely need this if Maibe shows up…and I'm sure she will."

Yahshi took the card and gave her companion a sweet smile and held it close to her heart. _"Thank you so much, Izzy. I'll take wise care of it." _

The young girl smiled back as she linked her hands behind her back. "Anything for a trustworthy friend."

_**Ten minutes later**_

"Am…I really wearing this?" Yahshi stretched the clothing out, eyeing it awkwardly.

Izzy's spirit appeared beside her, adoring her. _"…But it looks so beautiful on you! Just think, what would the Pharaoh think of it or what he might say?" _

She caressed her face as a pink blush shaded across her face with her closed eyes, her mind dreaming. "Probably say one of the most romantic things…" she sighed romantically. "Oh he always knows what to say to make me lose control…"

…Isolde just sweat dropped.

"But still!" Yahshi looked down at her clothes.

"_Ooooh no!"_ Izzy dug her finger into her alter ego's bosom. "_You're wearing it, and that's final!" _

_**Outside of Game shop**_

Atemu calmly and patiently waited for Yahshi outside. He leaned against the wall of the Game shop in relaxation, arms crossed. The sound of the door opening was heard. He peered over to the opened door with a shy Yahshi behind it.

Her heart couldn't catch a normal rate as the red streaks seemed to heat her entire face.

Yami Atemu was wearing a black sleeveless leather vest to hug to his perfectly broad torso. The collar cut into a "V" in the center to show his collarbone's structure, metal bolts designing the shirt's collar to make it blend into a shiny gleam. Two black belts strapped around his upper arm and a gold bracelet with a black strap wrapped around them. Last but not least, he wore his usual leather black pants.

(A/N: Let me just get to the point, Atemu basically looks like…a bad boy, a very fine bad boy. Lol, it kinda looks like the outfit from the "Duelist of the Roses" game.)

Yahshi blinked as she felt heat throughout her entire body. Truly he looked…gorgeous.

His eyes widely met her outfit, his own interests observing.

She gave him a shy smile, brightening her clothing.

It was a black dress with pleated neck collar worn around her shoulders loosely, showing light exposure of decent cleavage. The long sleeves even had a fancy pleated cloth around her palms as if to be a glove with an opening for fingers. The length of the outfit stopped above her knees to prove her silky legs, though the ends of her lovely black dress had fashionable drape-like toile rags that dangled. A black laced collar strapped around her neck to perfect the wonderful style. White little pearls wrapped across her waist droopily. It looked amazing on her, simply beautiful. Black silk dress on her milky skin, with amber eyes and bronzed hair to go along with it.

The queen laughed shyly at how he looked at her. Bashfully she linked her fingers. "…So, what do you think?"

"You look…_g-g-great_." The amethyst light shining brightly against his orbs shimmered in emotion as he gazed.

(A/N: He's a tough and strong black and she's a delicate and elegant black in their clothing and personality in being yamis.)

"You look _beautiful_ yourself." She gave a small smile, shy of how she couldn't admit just how awe-inspiring he looked.

He felt him let go of a held breath, "Thank you."

She gave him a sidelong glance as he approached her.

"Listen I," this never ending smile brightened on his face. He felt awkward, yet for some reason overjoyed. "I found a place where we can go. I think you'll like it since you love greenery landscapes…right?" He seemed unsure nonetheless.

"Yes," Yahshi laughed at his forgetfulness. "I do!"

Atemu's expression finally calmed into certainty as shown in his smile. "Just follow me."

Yahshi, in a hypnotizing daze of his amorous eyes, slowly nodded, as in her face said, _'I don't care what he's saying, all I know is that he's staring at me with those handsome, violet eyes…_'

He gently jerked her into the direction he chose to go.

Soon enough they arrived.

Atemu smiled just slenderly as Yahshi just gazed oddly. She looked behind her, observing their surroundings. He was right, it did have a lovely landscape to it with such decorative flora life and so, but…

She looked up at him in doubt and disappointment as he continued to smile.

"Hm?" the Pharaoh blinked at the appearance on her face, as if pleading to him. "What's wrong? You…don't like this place?"

Yahshi gasped as her hair stood up on her head. "N-NO! It's not that! It's not that at all…it's just," it was too depressing to see Atemu disheartened. "Well…a park wasn't what I had in mind…"

Atemu's eyebrows creased upwards apologetically, "You wanted something more romantic and fun?"

Yahshi nodded, guilty as charged.

"Well, then I have an idea…" slowly he reached for something in his pocket.

Yahshi's eyes went wide as a gasp echoed in her mind as if waiting for something dangerous he was about to pull out. _Oh no! He didn't, he wouldn't! Oh please don't let it be—_

"Duel Monsters." Atemu smirked with an additional wink.

She gave him a bored look as she dropped her head with a sweat drop. _He did…_She opened her eyes as a distant fragment gleamed like a blue star against them. A remote smile filled her face as she continued to look down. _Well, I suppose I could do things his way…this is, what he loves after all. And what made him a hero in Egypt…_

Yahshi lifted her head to stare up at him. She straightened up and smiled happily. "Alright, Atemu," slowly she took out her own dueling deck of cards. "I'll play. It's been awhile since I've played a game with these monsters."

"Well then I just hope you're not _**too**_ rusty, heir and prophetess of Ra." Atemu joked as he turned and set his deck on the park's eating table. "Wouldn't want my talent to go to waste, you know."

Yahshi paused, a vein appearing on her temple. "I'm not rusty! And I'm not unworthy! Let's just play already mister all mighty and conceited!!"

He just laughed at her as she slammed her deck onto the table.

_**Four Rounds Later**_

His 100 life points deleted to zero as she seized her card before his, her life points still at 1000.

"How and why do you keep doing that?" Atemu stared at her in amazement, though secretly putting on an act. "I'm the dueling champion, hero of Egypt!"

"Not anymore, _Pharaoh_! You just got beaten by a girl!" Yahshi put on her big grin and folded her arms. "Looks like I was the one wasting my talent on _you_!" She looked away, suddenly cracking her eye open to see in the corner of her eye, a Pharaoh smiling at her. "Wha…why are you smiling at me like that?"

He glimpsed off into the other direction, chin in his palm. "No reason," Atemu's eyes slanted back to her, a following smirk chasing after his cunning face. "Want to play again?"

"Ah-ha!" she stood up, pointing at him as he blinked dully. "I know what this is! You just purposely let me win, didn't you?!"

Atemu couldn't resist smiling. "I would never do such thing."

Yahshi narrowed her eyes as she linked her arms, skeptical. "No wonder you dueled so poorly! You were going easy on me this whole time just because I was rusty and you didn't want me to feel bad?"

"N-no, not because of that!" Atemu sweat dropped with a guilty smile.

"So you admit it, then?" Yahshi closed in on him as she furrowed her eyebrows, him just suddenly sighing. She closed in more to where their noses could've touched, but Atemu was only left smirking into her irises. She then sighed at his dishonest ways. "You're hopeless Atemu…you really are."

"Alright, alright…I _**did**_ go easy on you, this time." Atemu's lean arms crossed over his broad chest.

"No, you went easy on me_ three times_ in a row." Yahshi corrected.

"And so I did." He leveled his eyelids in a devious approach.

Yahshi blushed, but then scowled even more. Before she could part her sleek lips to protest, they were quickly sealed by his. Atemu smiled through the yielding kiss as she never did pull away. Finally, she had regained self-control and dragged away from him, gasping and then feeling lava's steaming hotness conquer her cheeks.

Yahshi tried her best to glare and scold at him at this point, but her red face was very unconvincing. "N-No fair! I wasn't expecting a sneak attack!"

Atemu just gave her an innocent smile. "Exactly."

She blinked and then huffed as her strand flew airborne above her face. "But I'm the one who usually woos you. That was plain cruel, Atemu. It's not fair when you're not the one who's blushing."

He opened his eyes to blink at her. "You mean…you like taking advantage of my nervousness around you?"

She giggled, resting her chin on the back of her hands as she gave him her most charming and enchanting smile known to Egypt's men. "Well, it's cute the way the heat raises upon your face when my presence takes affect over you." Her eyelash fluttered in a wink.

And he was demonstrating it perfectly right about now at her charming wits.

"There!" she leaned over the table, close to his face, her eyelids falling low cunningly, freezing him. "Like right now," She kissed his nose, a full red flush over his face now. Yahshi sat back in her bench, watching him try to toss away the blush. "Well, doesn't matter." Yahshi took out a special card from her deck and gazed at it with a smile.

Atemu looked at her in confusion.

"I bet if I used this card, I would've beaten you no matter how you dueled."

"And what card would that be?"

Yahshi showed him the card.

"Nephthys Goddess of Femi?" He examined it before Yahshi stood up and turned to the scenery, placing her hand over her deck. "It's an intricate card…its attack points are unlimited just like the Silfer, the Sky Dragon."

Yahshi turned around gracefully. "Even so, it's nothing like the Egyptian Gods, even if linked. Though, its special abilities are in Egyptian, but only for protection."

Atemu stood and walked over to her, hands in his pockets coolly. "Well then I'll just have to take a look now won't I?"

"Can you even remember how to read Egyptian text?" Yahshi glanced at him.

"…Well, uh…" he blinked, dumbfounded.

She looked into the painting of her card, holding it to her chest. "…The card's text doesn't tell all the abilities, anyway."

"What do you mean? Every card in Duel Monsters displays its abilities in written words below it, even if it another language."

"No, this duel monster must gain from two people, something special, Sa-Ra. When it gains this, nothing will possibly beat that special power, not even the darkness. This card should only be played in the Shadow Realms. It's like an emergency hatchet."

Atemu confusedly stared at her attention drawn to the card. "And, what is this 'something special' that it must gain to activate its hidden powers?"

Her eyes seemed to gentle as she caressed it closer into the fabric of her black dress. "…You'll see very soon; you'll feel it when you duel. Like when you say, believe in the heart of the cards? You must believe in the heart of Femi, and then will you know how to tap into this feeling the most. All I can say is," she sat up, pink blossoms falling from her thin strands of her, making her look angelic. "Love is more than just a memory…"

Atemu stared at her shocked and slightly confused.

His wife gave him a soft smile. "Come on, Pharaoh." she said through slight giggles. "Let's check out the area and have some fun." She quickly turned around to Atemu with a grin. "Race you to the hotdog stand!"

Yami Atemu gave her a strange look as he stood. "There are times when you can be extremely bizarre…"

Her smile faded as she looked away. "Please! You're the weird one in my book, _King of Games_!"

"Oh I am, am I?" He raised his eyebrows.

Yahshi smiled as she closed her eyes, folding her arms. "Always have been." She spun on her heel, looking over her shoulder and winking at him. "Then again, that's exactly why I love you…because you're different." She walked away with her fingers tied behind her back, smiling in sweet thoughts to herself, humming something in her mind. "Not to mention charming." Her eyes crossed his in a sidelong glance flirtatiously.

Atemu just watched her go curiously. He then tried to catch up to her shouting, "How am I CHARMING…?" He paused when he felt the air turn sinister. Whispers of foreign language hissed silently into his mind and between the crowds. Quickly he looked behind him, face now a deep solemnity. His dreadful eyes of amethyst scanned the parks intensely, very alarmed as once again the chanting hiss tuned into a deceitful laugh.

Yahshi stopped as she heard him stop. She about faced and looked at her Pharaoh in utter perplexity. "…My King?"

Atemu looked back to her, now only smiling. "Why…don't we visit the fountains?"

Yahshi blinked. "The fountain?"

"Fountain of the park; it's beautiful really. I came here with Tea once, so I've seen it before."

"...**What**?" Yahshi's eyebrows deepened into a hefty glare. "Tea?" she talked out of the side of her mouth. "Yugi's friend Tea? You came here with her while I was gone for five millennia?" she growled, a vein popping.

"Well…uh…y-yes?" Atemu blinked in fear, a sweat drop on the side of his temple.

"So you went out with some girl that liked you while you were married..?! Were you having an affair?!"

"I-I didn't even know you existed! And Tea doesn't like me!"

"Atemu, anyone could like you, you're exactly the type of man any girl would want to snatch up!"

"…I am?" He felt clueless and STUPID.

"I'm surprised you don't have a fan club, or that someone hasn't proposed to you at your very doorstep by now!"

"…Proposed? To ME?"

Steam fumed from her red face as she puffed up her cheeks. "Oh…Atemu-sama you're so clueless! Never mind!"

Atemu only scratched his cheek with a single finger, VERY clueless in fact.

Yahshi's nose pointed to the sky with her eyes closed in some sass and anger. "…That's alright, I'm actually your wife, and Tea's just your fan."

Atemu sweat dropped and then sighed. "…Sweet girl, sweet girl…"

He took Yahshi to the wonderful water fountain. The sculpture centering it was an enormous swan with water spurting from its beak and back. There were even swans, geese and ducks bathing between the unsullied waters.

"If I can remember, I think it's called 'The Fountain of Dreams.'" Atemu smiled at Yahshi, who adored it.

Yahshi watched the waters and the miniature fish swim by beneath the ripples. "…This brings back memories…" She smiled and dipped her finger into the waves of the fountain's youthful water, just to be greeted by one of the friendly fish that hesitantly circled her finger. "When we were children, when we first laid eyes upon each other…" Even a few curious baby ducklings swam cautiously up to her hand, looking for food. Yahshi smiled wider with pleasure. She looked to the side, seeing Atemu's reflection beside hers. "…Yes, exactly the same…just how I fell in love."

After a while, Yahshi decided to buy them hot dogs since she thought Atemu did what he did for the day. She had persuaded him to get one but once he got it, he had hesitated to take a bite.

"It's always good to try something new, Sa-Ra." Yahshi eagerly watched him.

"I've never had one of these before." He stared at it as if it were an alien. "How do you know it's good?"

"Izzy introduced me to one once. Just take a bite for me, please?" Yahshi gave him a look he could never resist.

Yami Atemu nodded and took a huge bite of it, not really enjoying the taste. He tried to swallow and accidentally forgot to chew it. His eyes became wide and his face turned a faint blue. "URM!" he hit his chest with his fist, trying to cough up the stuck chunk of food in his throat.

Yahshi sweat dropped and tried to help him, but with one final hit on the chest, the hot dog piece came flying out. He began to constantly cough and hack.

Yahshi patted his back softly. "…Don't tell me you forgot how to eat food too…"

He sighed with a bored face, his head dropping. "…I hate hot dogs…"

They returned back to the water fountain with more water birds welcoming t hem. Atemu decided to continue his hot dog but hadn't finished it (since he cautiously took small bites thanks to the accident) so all the birds swarmed around him, thinking they'd get a free meal. From the side lines, Yahshi only laughed at his clumsy escapes.

A pigeon landed on his head, ducks surrounded his feet, and seagulls landed on his shoulders and arms to try and peck at his hot dog.

"ACK!" Atemu panicked as one stared at him upside down. "Nice bird! Good, filthy, diseased bird!—Yahshi help me! OUCH!" painfully the bird bit his nose.

"Oh c'mon, Atemu! It looks like you made some new friends!" she watched as he scurried around with birds chasing him left and right.

Within calm minutes, he was able to consume the rest of his hot dog, but only barely. He sat close to Yahshi at the deserted water fountain. He felt the awkwardness float above their heads and fill their hearts, so he decided to speak on what truly was on his mind,

"…Omorose?"

She tilted her head. "Yes?"

"Listen, I've been thinking…" he twiddled his thumbs. "Remember when you said it wasn't a crime for us to be intimate?"

She raised both eyebrows high.

"Well, did we…did we ever…you know…do…further things…?"

"Further things?"

"Did we ever…being married and all,"

"Did we what?" she scooted closer to him, leaning over him as the side of their legs pressed, somewhat arousing what had never been touched between his thighs. "Spit it out, _Atemu_…"

Quickly he held his breath, shouting with a deepened blush: "Did we...ever have intercourse ?!"

Yahshi's hair stood on end, her eyes growing buggy, suddenly scooting a feet away from him.

Dead silence…

She stared at him, breathing out, "Oh my Ra…" she then swallowed down all her nervousness, knocking her knees together. "…I-I-I-I…" she choked. "No," she smiled nervously, "Um no…w-we never went that far…I think!" she looked down, legs close together now at a thought she's always encountered. She didn't want to expose how naughtily she fantasized of what it would be like to roll around with the body of a Son of a God himself.

He widened his eyes, jumping back slightly. "…You think?"

"I-I don't remember…" she continued to look down with a blush swept over her face. The thought of her and Atemu…to experience unleashed intensified passions such as that, would be… "Oh Ra," she moaned to herself, feeling the fluttering, wet warmth saturate her.

"You don't remember?!" Atemu leaned over her side, eyes wider.

"Well look at it this way," she breathed, trying to disguise her temptation. "If we had, there would've been a baby in my hands at that time, wouldn't you think?"

"Y-Yes but, you could've been carrying it even during the time of your death."

"WHAT?!" Yahshi gulped, panicking. "Th-There's no way I would even let you do such a thing to me!" She was _craving _for him to do such a thing to her.

"You sure? The way we are all the time, my power always overwhelms you…passion-wise."

A blush flushed over her entire face. "Wh-what are you saying…?"

"I don't know!"

"Oh Ra, oh Ra…" she turned away, her teeth gripping her one nail. "I hope that's not true…we died too young and were too young to have a child! Then again…"

"Then again?!"

"Then again," she repeated, trying to cool down. "The servants would've informed me, and I would've known beforehand, right?"

"But still, what if…we…shared profound love the night before the war, the night before your death?"

Both stared at each other, searching one another's eyes, and then dropping their heads in a unison sigh.

Atemu scooted close to her, smiling with uncertainty. "We're an unusual item of royalty…"

Yahshi smiled at that in humor, chuckling a bit. "…Yes we are…"

Her Pharaoh smiled wider, eyes shimmering with a radiant light. _'Gradually, I'm beginning to feel what Yugi experiences when Isolde is reflecting off his eyes; when Yahshi reflects off mine, my heart…feels light, but then heavy.'_

She looked upon him, smiling ever so shyly at such a light within his beautiful orbs of strength and protection.

Within awestruck, they were easily entranced by one another, and slowly closed in on one another's boundaries. Eyes had closed when lips were near, but just then, both yelped as they fell over the edge of the fountain. Immediately they fell into the water, splashing it everywhere.

Yahshi blinked as a fish flapped tangled up in her hair, her retrieving it from her strands and frowning up at it. In an instant her eyes had crossed Atemu's fearful face, and laughed.

He just gazed at her awkwardly. "What's so funny…?"

She continued to laugh, dying of laughter. "You have a duckling in your hair!"

He looked up, meeting eyes with a small baby duck that quacked its greetings.

Yahshi just continued to laugh away. "I'm sorry…"—she laughed harder—"…you're just so goofy today!" she held her stomach with laughter overwhelming her even more.

Atemu raised his eyebrows in surprise as so did the small duckling. "It wasn't all_ that _funny, now."

Yahshi wiped away some tears. "You're right, you're right, I shouldn't make fun of you Mister Tough Guy!"

He turned away and pouted like a child. "_I _didn't think it was funny, at least." He mumbled under his breath while folding his arms.

Yahshi smiled and quickly splashed some water on him.

Atemu blinked and shivered at the cold chill of the water and glared over at Yahshi who was smiling innocently, batting her eyelashes. He clashed water onto her face, washing away her smile. As he chuckled at her priceless expression, a giant wave was splattered over his body, wetting him entirely. He was about to fuss, until she gave him a refreshing five second kiss on the lips, flinging water from her hair, and making him forget all about what he was going to whine at her for.

Yahshi held him close to her, ignoring his wet clothes and them snuggling in a water fountain, but nevertheless she was with him so her body no longer felt soaked with wetness. She looked up at him with a cute smile and sparkling spellbound russet eyes. "Are you still mad at me?"

Atemu goofily smiled with his eyes slightly shut. "…Mad about wha…?"

Yahshi giggled more and held him tighter. Atemu was enjoying it all, yet he still couldn't believe how he could ever feel this happy with anyone…until patrol came over and demanded they get out of the public water fountain…

As they walked along the grassy hills, Atemu offered his Omorose a white rose, the rose that meant love's togetherness for eternity. Yahshi blushed at such a meaningful gift, and took it delicately into her fingers, smiling lovingly down on it. Her Pharaoh gently set it in her hair, making her look enchanting. She kissed his temple and playfully ruffled his tri-colored scalp to irritate him.

_**Evening Sunset**_

It wasn't completely dark now; it was only daylight blinds of pink that hit the atmosphere's choice of paint. A few pale stars were evident in the rose-tinted skies even so.

The two regalities had decided to visit the bridge that stretched over the "Swan Lake."

Atemu and Yahshi hung over the bridge together, side by side watching the sunset leisurely. Airstreams touched their faces, but not bothering them at all. The hum of diplomatic nature took over the silence. Neither one had said anything. They didn't want to spoil the moment, not right now.

For it both reminded them of the beauty of Egypt's valleys…

However, Egypt was a country corrupted by mistakes and misusage in their era. So many mistakes that still aren't patched up yet. Perhaps Atemu and Yahshi were paying for those mistakes by reliving on in this world…

Yahshi's honeyed orbs steadily found themselves exploring Atemu's facial features. Her eyelashes fluttered as she remembered how long she hated him for making her wait so long to reunite with him. She was forever haunted by those three chapters of her memory: their childhood, their reunite and their wars over their love. She wondered if deep down in his heart this whole while they've been apart, did he never secretly dream of her eyes and her smile. If he ever dreamt that, if one more chance existed, he'd search for the girl with the amber eyes and bronze hair.

Atemu soon rotated his eyes to her restless form, blinking soundlessly…

Yahshi cocked her head as she continued to observe his every move and every stare. She fell in love with the way his lips fell into a parted line of questioning, the way he blinked with the husky, "Hm?"

"…Sa-Ra Atemu…? There's something, I…" She then held her heart and resided by the banister, closing her eyes.

"What is it?" He turned to her to reveal himself sideways. His voice seemed so enchanting and dear.

…Yahshi jerked around to him, the sun's rays shuddering against her watery eyes. "Do you love me at all?"

Atemu jolted back…

"Because I still feel there isn't something complete between us, and if y-you have the feelings I have, then—"

"Yahshi…" Atemu hushed her gently, softening his gaze. "…I loved you five millennia ago, didn't I?" In the depths of his loins, he indeed, questioned his words. Yes, he DID love her, but did he love her like he did five millennia ago?

Nevertheless, the Pharaoh raised a caring hand to caress her cheek and gave her his pair of heavenly smiling eyes.

Yahshi dropped the stress in her heart and closed her eyes, soon falling into his chest with her fingers clutching his vest. She nuzzled and nestled Atemu's bosom to find the sacred warmth she had been searching for all these years. He haunted her mind ever since departure…

Atemu watched her softly snivel under the jade glow in his violet eye. He buried his face into her scalp and passionately sealed his eyelids over his glinting irises of regality. Soon after, his arms slowly found their home around her fragile body.

As the sun was only a small line of light over the horizon, Yahshi and Atemu walked through the fields of innocence in the park. The Sa-Ra's Queen peeked behind a tree's veiling vines to watch her Pharaoh become under attack by fireflies of the early twilight.

She smiled, feeling as if heaven had taken a human form before her eyes, and leant her side into the trunk of the tree.

The fireflies danced and waltzed around her hypnotized King, as he just stared wide-eyed at the illuminating insects.

"Are you going to dance with the fireflies? Or dance with ME?" Yahshi grinned and suddenly rushed up to her Pharaoh who seemed baffled than ever when she posed them in a dancing posture. She twirled above his hand in her black dress as he just watched behind distant blinks. Soon enough, he found himself smiling as she actually did all the steps instead of he. He found her…entertaining.

Things may have been awkward between them…

Things may have been testy between them…

But none of it meant his care for her would change.

Atemu gripped her hand tighter as he spun her himself this time just to watch her giggle and blush. He barely knew what he was doing, but he did know his Queen was finally feeling the joy he was feeling.

He was willing to wait for his heart to fully unlock for her…

Yahshi's giggles situated into a choked gasp when her King jerked her into his body, breast against breast to one another. She blinked shyly into his eyes of amethyst whorls, full of feeling that she didn't quite understand…

Her cheeks became flooded by the sensation of pink steam when his nose nuzzled her bangs and forehead, causing her heart to leap.

Was he…finally becoming used to her?

Atemu's fingers locked tightly between the margins of hers as his lips roamed from her eyelid to her ear, tucking her body closer into his. He could feel her body melting against his.

"Are we…living in a dream?" Tears beaded across Yahshi's bottom eyelashes. "Because I've dreamt for this moment forever…I-I know…I-I know it's selfish, but I could care less…about E-Egypt…or the origins of our p-past…I…I begged to the Gods, to bring me to you and pray you'd feel the way I did, and now…"

Yahshi's fingers grasped the leather of Atemu's vest as his chuckle heated her eardrum. Her tears spilled and rowed down her cheeks whilst his hand slid up to her should blade to bring her closer.

"You sacrifice too much for me…" His lips teased her ear's rim before he breathed hotly into its helix on purpose. "We've been separated for too long, haven't we? And I'm sorry…"

Yahshi withdrew from his bosom and arched her eyes to view his. Eyes looked as if the Gods themselves had painted them with honey…

Atemu searched those honey-painted eyes, hoping to spot some type of forgiveness in them. He prayed she forgave him for separating them purposely, and for forgetting how to tap into his love for her…for forgetting what it felt like to love his Queen…because without that memory of sensation, their relationship wasn't whole.

Yahshi broke out into a smiling. "I forgive you…for being away for far too long."

Atemu, her Atemu, slid his fingers beneath her chin to raise her attention to him fully. "Then trust in me when I say I'm not leaving you anymore…I've left you so many times before in the past, but now in the present future, it won't ever be that way again…" As his words ended in whispers, his face drew nearer and nearer to her own…

Yahshi sighed as his breath heated her mouth before his flesh-lips enclosed over hers.

As Yahshi gazed into the serene and eased face of her former King, she draped her arms around him to pull their passion closer into one another…

Never shall their reign end…

The sun sank over them within the few passing seconds of time….

_Exit of Park_

Atemu and Yahshi walked down the streets of the active night city.

Yugi's spirit just had to interrupt Atemu mentally. _"Told you it would be fun!"_

Yami Atemu smiled at him. _**'It was okay I suppose.'**_

"_Oh and by the way, nice going with the hot dog, fountain incident, and seducing Yahshi methods in the firefly park. Yeah it was reeeal smooth." _Yugi teased.

Atemu frowned dangerously at him and Yugi just waved his hands about with a timid smile and sweat drop, his spirit slowly disappearing.

The avenues were unusually shadowed all except for the dim sodium lights that scared away smidgens of darkness. The entire city was silent, and not even the grind of a cricket's legs chirping was heard.

Atemu eyed his directions with an alarmed expression.

"Sa-Ra?" Yahshi cleared her throat.

It took him sometime to answer, but eventually he angled himself to her, "Yes?"

She stopped beside him as he did with his hands in his pockets. Her eyes locked with his, and instantly threw away the golden ankh key. She blinked, her cheeks a rose-pink shade, and then quickly she tossed the feelings of his spell off. _Curse him…_"…I…I wanted to give you something…"

He blinked twice. "What is it?"

Yahshi took out a card and held it before him.

He glanced at her, and then took it into his hands.

Yahshi smiled at him with delivering joy.

After a second of examining the card and reason why she gave it him, Atemu looked to her in downright confusion. "…I can't take this from you…"

Yahshi closed her eyes as her fingers enfolded around the hand of his that held onto the given card. "You are not _**taking**_ anything from me. I am _**giving**_ this to you, Sa-Ra." Her eyes shot open when she felt his hand slither out of hers and reach for the silver ornament around his neck. "My King…"

"I had given this to you a millennia ago, and yet you gave it back to me when it was yours for the keeping." He retrieved the pendant from around his neck and placed it over her head, resting the silver lace and sealed name on her breast. "Keep it for another 5,000 years…"

She looked to the printed forename on his pendant, staring at it with emotions soggy against her eyes for eternity. Yahshi pressed it against her heart with scarlet streaked across her face. "…Atemu…"

Atemu was about to solicit why she seemed so cheerless all of the sudden, until he heard a serpent tongued whisper that caught his ears. He immediately revolved his head and looked crossly into the dark pathway up head.

_(Song, "Haunted by Evanescence" ) _

_**Long…**_

_**Lost…**_

_**Words…**_

_**Whis-per…**_

_**Slow-ly…**_

_**To me…**_

A sturdy and angry draft of wind blew compellingly against them. Atemu scowled, recognizing this event and proverbial power. He stood in front of Yahshi to guard her.

Yahshi's broad eyes gazed horrendously into the dark. "…N-No," she breathed. "They're all a-around us…"

_**Still…**_

_**Can't find what**_

_**Keeps me**_

_**Here…**_

"Maibe..." His forehead blazed with the eye of Ra as his heart flamed with loathing. "SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!"

Yahshi gripped Atemu tightly, eyes widely shot open with tears flying as she jerked back. Even if she had a power equal to his, she feared Maibe and her demons _greatly_…

_**When all**_

_**This**_

_**Time I've**_

_**Been so alone**_

_**Inside…**_

"_**Care to play, Pharaoh?" **_The nerve racking voice echoed._** "If you wish to end this war between good and evil, step into the abyss and you'll find me waiting." **_

Atemu narrowed his eyes in disgust again. "I'm not here to play one of your sick minded games. I'm here to play a fair challenge."

"_**Oh but fair isn't my game, King Atemu." **_

…_**I know you're still there…**_

Yahshi gasped when she heard growls above them, tears pouring from her unblinking eyes. Anbuis and Osiris were arched on two buildings across from each other, revealing their fangs for Yahshi as they leaned over the edges, growling hungrily for her to come back to them. It almost looked as if they were even grinning as their red eyes smoldered with murder.

_**Watching me…**_

_**Wanting me…**_

_**I can feel you**_

_**Hold me **_

_**Down**_

_**Haunting me**_

_**Killing me**_

_**Raping me**_

Atemu looked to them as they jumped from the building-crowns and landed on the sides of them both, circling their prey.

The Pharaoh stood fearlessly and readily while Yahshi trembled in immense panic, wanting to run.

The dogs of the Dead snarled and cackled, speaking to Yahshi under their molding hisses of the snake tongue, _"Come back to us, Thema…we wants you to watch us wear your skin…"_

_**Hunting you**_

_**I can smell you **_

_**Alive…**_

_**Your heart**_

_**Pound-ing**_

_**In my head…**_

"Don't be afraid." The Pharaoh's deep, assuring voice told her. "They can't hurt you, not while_** I'm**_ here."

The dogs howled and barked, assuring their kill would be successful now, though Yami Atemu did nothing but look ahead and not at the beasts. "Call off your unworthy bodyguards, Maibe."

"_**Why so? I am scaring your queen a little too much?"**_

The bloody dogs hesitated but eventually backed down, but not before teasingly snapping at Yahshi in bloody slaver.

"_**Step into the darkness Pharaoh, and I'll be waiting to grant your funeral." **_

Atemu frowned with a doomful glare. "The day will be brighter once you're dead."

"…_**I'm already dead, remember? And so are you."**_

He gritted his teeth with a rasping rumble bursting of hatred. Yahshi felt her grip on his back loosen as he walked ahead, leaving her there to panic. In horror, she watched his form fade more and more into the darkness the further he walked.

"ATEMU, _WAIT_!" she begged, her scream a distant echo.

The Pharaoh peered over his shoulder at her for a moment or less, and then continued on.

She threw herself into a running position, tripping forward all of the sudden and falling onto the concrete. "Atemu, stop!"

He persisted to walk without paying even the slightest attention to Yahshi's terminology.

Yahshi latched onto his arm and yanked him back. "Pharaoh, don't be foolish! Please don't go in there!"

Atemu gave her the face of disgust and intolerance. "This is the only chance we have of getting rid of Maibe once and for all!!" he yelled abruptly with a blackened heart.

She stared at him in a broken down wideness of fright and utter dread. Such a profound voice of venom and ferocity scared her. "No, she's lying to you! It's a trap; she's trying to break the bind between calmness and the darkness in your rage!"

Atemu frowned in displeasure and intact irritation. "Let go of me!!" He roughly jerked his arm out of Yahshi's grasp, making her trip backwards.

His queen stared at him in alarm. "What's gotten into you…?" It was almost as if he didn't recognize her anymore.

The darkness around them fed off his anger, causing him to seize it like oxygen poisoning his mind, and he was too blinded by it to have centered on anything else, including Yahshi. It was Maibe's plan from the beginning, for she warned him that the darkness in his heart would be his termination.

Tears brooked down her face in humiliation and hurt. Yahshi wasn't about to let him suffer more than he already had. She ran after him again, and stood in front of Atemu this time with her arms held out to halt him.

Pharaoh Atemu scowled at her presence. "Get out of the way..." He heatedly whispered.

Yahshi shook her head, her pearly tears soaring before she took a step in front of him. "…N-No…I won't let you pass me by! I can't allow you to fall into her ambush!" she took a step nearer to him with her tears plunging like rainwater. "…I beg of you, O' Beautiful Sa-Ra." Her eyebrows quivered as she struggled to uphold her frown.

He only growled at her, the light gleaming against his eyes a pale crimson. "I'm warning you…" he threatened.

She looked deeply into his powerful lavender eyes, blinded with odium. More tears floored from Yahshi's eyes. "…If something happened to you, it shall affect the world…and me." Her trembling fingers slipped into his.

Atemu flinched, stared confusedly at their hand lock, and then looked back to Yahshi's grief-stricken face.

"…I want to know more of this 'lifetime of the next,' and I will never know that if she destroys you…" The poor girl looked down in pain which would come and go too often, her lips quivering in a smile. "…But when you saved me from those beasts, you were nearer to death…and it scares me more to think about it every time I see your gentle soul." She began to struggle. "…I witnessed your attempted death and there was nothing I could do…do you know how painful that is? To just sit there, watch as the other half of your soul dies before your eyes?"

Shards and splinters of hate were shattering from his spirit.

Yahshi continued with struggles as she dropped her head, shadowing her eyes away. "…It is painful to lose someone close to you…someone you love more than the world itself…but it is even more painful to discover almost losing that person and then having to live your life everyday...knowing they might leave you unexpectedly just like the day before, and the day before the after." she leaned her body against him with her hands wrapping around his back with the side of her face buried into his chest, one eye shown and glowing with diluted emotion. "That's why I can't lose you again, Pharaoh. It should have been me that suffered on that day…not you…you don't deserve it anymore…you've suffered and burdened enough."

Atemu's eyes had lowered with a faint glow of uncertainty and guilt. His plum eyes watched his lover tremble against him. "Don't you ever say something like that again…"

Yahshi slowly raised her head to his; a solitary tear set under one eye.

He stared into the deepness of her eyes with deep regret, not even smiling. "….Neither one of us deserves pain. You are not going to lose anyone, especially not me."

"…Then don't follow her into the darkness."

"I must, if I have to banish Maibe."

"No, no…" she barely whispered as she slowly shook her head. "No…"

The back of Yami Atemu's finger stroked away the lone tear from her eye, looking solemnly into her eyes with his own gentled in a faded gleam. "I'll never leave you…I promise."

She furrowed her eyebrows.

"By even the clash of a thousand swords…it can not be broken." He wasn't smiling still; he was quite stern about it.

She watched as his fingers ran over the silver sleekness of the pendant that rested on her breast. Her lips parted to speak—

Black streams of darkness shot out from the sinister abyss behind them and clasped around Yahshi's mouth, giving Atemu one last chance to look into her terrified eyes before she was jerked into the darkness and out of sight.

Quickly he shouted for her, just to receive a black wave of electricity shoot after him. He hollered in pain as it shocked through his body, his form blurring out through the pain. Yugi's soul departed from his body off and on in a continuous pattern. Finally, Yugi's soul was torn away from Atemu completely, lost in the darkness as both howled their soreness from the high voltage of black energy.

Once the dark electrical wave faded away, Atemu was left slumping to his knees in a great deal of throbbing. He held his aching head as he opened his eyes to see nothing but haziness ahead.

His surroundings were completely darkened. The Pharaoh suddenly felt empty and alone without the presence of Yugi Motou. "…What just happened to me…?"

"ATEMU!"

At the call of his sacred name, he jerked his head up to see Yahshi before him. She was lying on her belly, looking up to him with tremendous fright in her watery eyes.

Atemu ran toward her and just when he was about to reach out to her, his hands could not reach her for they were separated in between by an invisible barrier. The Pharaoh felt and examined it with his hands in misery, not seeing anything before his sight, yet there was some type of fence between them.

His eyes went wide and then looked back to Yahshi on the other side. Tears were running down her pink cheeks as she pressed her finger tips against the invisible glass. "ATEMU! HELP!" she banged the barrier with her palms.

"YAHSHI!" he drew back his fist, and slammed his knuckles against the transparent wall. He felt as if the only thing he broke were his very knuckles. Resisting soreness, he continuously pounded the obstacle to no avail. "HOLD ON!!" he hit the barricade of clearness harder and harder each time with an angry roar. "I'M…(THUD)… NOT… _(THUD)_ …GIVING… **(THUD)**…UP… _**(THUD)**_… NOW!" he tried to shatter it with all his might, but luck let him down.

Yahshi watched him, already in a hopeless state. More tears rolled down her gashed face in anguish. _This is just like 5 Millennia ago…this is exactly how I died, Atemu on the other side of the door calling for me as I was trapped on the other side of him with Maibe… _"…Sa-Ra…" she whispered, sliding down its invisibility.

"I'M NOT LETTING THEM TAKE YOU AWAY FROM ME!" Atemu howled, squeezing his eyes shut and giving one last, enraged blow.

She slumped onto her knees as she slid, causing the invisible glass to screech. _And that's the exact same thing he screamed before she murdered me…_

_**Still…**_

_**Can't…**_

_**Find what**_

_**Keeps me**_

_**Here…**_

Atemu leaned over as he stopped and panted for breath. His eyes slowly watched as she leaned her shoulder up against the barrier, eyes closed with crystal tears dampening around her eyelashes, no emotion in her facial muscles...

His eyes went wider in more twinges. "Yahshi…" he whispered as if something pricked him. "…How could you…?" he knew she had given up on him and stopped believing in him.

Atemu couldn't bear this at all; he hated to see his queen this way; mistrusting him. Some rare tears welled in the corner of his eyes, but not for petty sadness, rather devastation, hurt, and misunderstanding.

"…Omorose…" his fear of losing her once again stabbed the back of his mind. Atemu closed his eyes tightly and let out a cry of fury while he hit the wall only once this time. "…YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN ME, YAHSHI…!" he furiously and desperately shouted. "You've already given up on me!" he bowed his head with his eyes still squeezed shut.

Her eyelids flattened even more in sadness, flakes of light in her irises dancing in quivers.

_**And all…**_

_**This…**_

_**Time I've…**_

_**Been so…**_

_**Alone…**_

_**Inside…**_

"You have to trust my word, and I swear I won't let her harm you again like she did 5 Millennia ago the first time!"

"It's already too late for pledges!" she managed to reply back, closing her eyes as she grunted. "This is exactly how it all happened! You can't save me now, Pharaoh…promises or broken promises don't matter anymore! She's already succeeded in killing me once…she's going to do it again the same way…"

His own eyes stayed on the darkness beneath him, the lights within them trembling in anxiety. "…How dare you give up on me like this…" he whispered weakly. "…How dare you mistrust me…"

Atemu looked up gradually at the sound of serpent tongued language and saw one of his worst fears come to reality. His eyes went wide with all depression and failure draining him.

A cloaked figure slowly rose from the darkness beneath and before Yahshi, towering over her.

…_**I know you're still there…**_

_**(Hunting you **_

_**I can smell you**_

_**Alive…)**_

Yahshi's eyes went blank as all trepidation grasped her tremulous soul. She backed against the invisible wall as Maibe's slithering presence approached closer, holding out a sharp-clawed hand to her while chanting deep whispers of another language.

Yahshi's heart ran up her throat before she swallowed it back down into her stomach.

_**(Your heart**_

_**Pounding**_

_**In my**_

_**Head…)**_

The hand little by little reached out to her as her pupil quaked. A screech deafened her ears as tears strolled down her cheeks.

_**Watching me, wanting me**_

_**I can**_

_**Feel**_

_**You**_

_**Hold**_

_**Me down…**_

"GET AWAY FROM HER!!" Atemu roared with wrath.

Forcefully, the hand gripped her face, her eyes wide as she was jerked up off her feet, her screams muffled in the hooded figure's palm. Tears were falling from Yahshi's squeezed shut eyes while she tried to loosen the hand's grip. Her muffled screams of pain squealed all her agony as if she were dying…

_**Haunting me**_

_**Killing me**_

"YAHSHI!!" Atemu banged the wall with more force this time.

In a split second, Maibe's cloak covered over Yahshi's hung body and she camouflaged herself in the darkness, disappearing.

_**Saving me**_

_**Raping me**_

…Atemu stared into the abyss, spaced out in agony so unbearable it made him ache mentally, emotionally, and physically. "…Yahshi…" was all that split through the intense suffering. "NO!!" He pounded the ground roughly with streaming tears continuously flowing down his face in resentment. "…She was right….time repeats itself once again…" He winced. "And there was nothing I could do!? Nothing at all?!" He sat on his knees, face directed up at the sky, a terrible cry of hatred escaping his lungs.

_**Unknown Location**_

Surrounded by the unknown and weary boundaries, Yugi found himself waking from the affect of the strong impact separation. He quickly tried to move with wide eyes, but then immediately bumped his head against something sharp.

Yugi tossed the pain away from the back of his head. "Man, what hit me?" his eyes looked about for clues of a sense of wherever he was.

He gasped once he realized he was stuck in a cluster of black vines and their barbed thorns. He squirmed with a small yelp as he noticed they were holding him down.

"What the?!" uncomfortably he squirmed even more to try and escape the overgrown plants' grasps.

Once he managed, his body fell to the ground below him. Yugi blinked three times fully. He looked down and saw his body soaked in dark mucky thick liquid; it looked as if to be some type of disgusting tar, yet as he stood he could see his reflection. He looked up to the sky, seeing the blackened vines he was trapped in crowding the ceiling.

"Where am I? Pharaoh…? Pharaoh, where are you? Where'd you go?" He soon discovered a chill run up his spine. "Wh-Why is it so cold?" his breath turned into a chilly fog of white air. "Wha-What is this place?!"

_**Shadow Realms**_

A chuckle echoed in the darkness.

Atemu yanked his head up with widened eyes, just to be shocked in awfulness at his sight.

There sat Yahshi a few feet away, her body in contusions as her wrists were nailed to the Egyptian Ankh behind her, the symbol representing life, and her fitting right in the space of the loop top. Her ankles were chained separately spread out. Two bloodlines ran over her forehead as her head suddenly bowed forward unconsciously.

Atemu's eyes shuddered. "YAHSHI!" he ran for her.

_**Saving me…**_

_**Raping me…**_

Dazedly her eyes came open, the shade cold amber. They stared down into the void under her tired eyelids.

_**I can  
feel**_

_**You**_

_**Hold**_

_**Me**_

_**Down…**_

Suddenly he halted, seeing this. He furrowed his eyebrows in bewilderment, then shot his eyes wide open in realization. "MAIBE!!" his call echoed outrageously.

The demonic witch appeared behind Yahshi whilst her arms wrapped around her neck with her chin on her shoulder. _**"You called for me?"**_

"TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO HER, NOW!"

Maibe gave him a wicked look from her pure crimson eye. _**"I could have killed her if I wished, but I decided to let her play the game too." **_Her fingers held Yahshi's chin to direct her blank face to Atemu.

_**Haunting me**_

_**Killing me**_

_**I can**_

_**Feel**_

_**You **_

_**Hold**_

_**Me**_

_**Down…**_

Atemu clenched his fist. "What do you mean by that?!"

Through the shadows he could see one side of her smirk. Maibe harshly snatched her hand away from Yahshi's chin, standing up and walking away from her.

Yahshi lifted her head up from her slumped over position, meeting eyes with Atemu. Immediately her pupils came back. "…Pharaoh…?" Her eyes went wide at her sight of her Atemu. "ATEMU!"

"Omorose…!" Atemu shouted, also seeing a younger ten year old him beside himself, calling to Yahshi in a childlike voice.

"_**What I meant was I included her in a high tagged game." **_

"The…Shadow Game…?" Atemu glanced at Maibe.

"_**Exactly, correct my King…just, a different version of it, an ancient version." **_

"I won't play your sick-minded games to bet lives on, Maibe."

"_**But you must, if you—"**_

"If I what?"

"_**If you really valued your queen's life." **_

"What are you talking about, witch?!"

"_**This will be different from other shadow games, Pharaoh. When you lose monsters, you lose a large portion of your life energy, and feel every inflicted pain that they feel. In other words you could say its slow death. This pain is very, very real and so are the spirits…this is the way of Egyptian games played 5,000 years ago. " **_

Atemu frowned in hatred. "What does Yahshi have to do with all this?"

Maibe gave him a promising wicked grin. _**"If you decide to forfeit the duel because it is too much pain and too close to death road, then Yahshi will belong to me for all eternity. If you lose the duel, she'll be killed by the darkness or, me. And if you decide to back down right now, I'll make sure to let her die slowly before your very eyes. It's a win-win for me." **_

Atemu couldn't believe what a bad deal he was getting for this. "How dare you involve her in this war…this is between you and me…not Yahshi!" If he lost this match, Yahshi and he will die in the darkness, so close yet so far apart.

"Atemu don't listen to her…" Yahshi whispered faintly. "You can still leave here alive without going through any of her games…"

His distant eyes turned to her beat and worrying face. "But if I don't, then she'll kill you…"

"_**Isn't it funny how much love can chew you up and spit you back out in tight spots? It breaks you in two, causes pain and mayhem, giving more agony than ever imaginable." **_

The angry Pharaoh gave Maibe the expression of doom. "You know nothing of it and what its powers possess."

"_**You don't know so much about it yourself, Atemu. You don't remember your own Queen, Pharaoh you don't even remember **__**yourself!**_

Yami Atemu only stared at her with a frustration brewing passionately. He stepped up ahead and took out of his dueling deck.

"…Atemu, no!" Yahshi pleaded. "Don't duel her!"

He looked at his deck with deciding eyes.

"Pharaoh I beg you not to!"

His eyes darted over to hers. "I have to in order to get rid of this witch once and for all, you know that."

"No you don't! You don't have to do anything! Just go and leave me here!"

Atemu's eyes widened in shock. "Have you gone MAD…?" he whispered in great trembling impatience. "You should know by now I'm not going to leave you here to die!"

Yahshi tossed her head. "…Atemu please stop trying to be a hero like you tried to be to save Egypt by giving your life away!" Tears dripped from her ocher eyes.

The Pharaoh just stared at her in shock and hurt.

"You loved and died for your country!!" she claimed in truth. "But you're not going to die for me, you promised not to leave me the way you left Egypt! Because of your death, YOU LEFT EGYPT CORRUPTED! HOW DARE YOU DO THE SAME FOR ME!" Yahshi grunted silently to herself. "…How dare you do the same to me…"

…There was a deep and crucial pause.

"I've made up my mind…" his voice sternly demanded.

Yahshi looked up to him with tears flying.

"I'm going to duel her for you."

"PHARAOH!" she screamed, jerking forward just to cry out in pain because of the golden nails piercing into her wrists. "Why do you do these things? Why must you always put your life on the line in every combat? Is that the only way you feel you can save someone else?!"

"I'VE LOST YOU A _THOUSAND_ TIMES BEFORE!" he bellowed intolerantly at her, causing her to shut up. Nevertheless, Yahshi broke down at such pain in his eyes. "I couldn't save you back in Egypt, and I almost repeated it four times in a row already! You are my queen; it is my duty to keep you out of harm! It was my oath! I don't plan to lose you again to this menace! Don't you see it? She's doing it all on purpose to eat away at us! She's forcing us to relive old depths all over again!"

Maibe watched amusingly from the sidelines.

"The first time we met, Yahshi…first day, first glance, first words, I vowed to never let anything happen to you. I told you…I'm here for you, and will always be here for you now until the very end …no matter what the consequence or risk, I'll fight for your soul…" he turned back to Maibe with a face of solemnity. "So don't try to change my decision. I'm going to fulfill my promise to you, Omorose."

Yahshi gazed at him widely before dropping her head and sighing. "Oh Atemu…" she looked down at the silver pendant hanging around her neck, her eyes full of regret.

"I accept your challenge, Maibe."

"_**By the way, your friend; Yugi, is somewhere playing a nice run around also." **_

"Where is he?! What have you done to my friends, now?!"

"_**He's in his lover's mind. He's lost in the dark tricks and painful corners and edges of Isolde's suffering past memories, and to all the answers why she is so miserable even now. He must save her from herself or else she will instantly give her soul up to the darkness she wants to die in." **_

"What do you mean, 'wants to die in?' Why would Isolde want to die in darkness?!"

"_**Pay more attention to your friends, Sa-Ra. Isolde is alone and suffering losses of her family. She needs more than friendship. She desperately desires the fragile "thing" from only one person she's fallen for. If she doesn't get this she shall feel she does not belong of this earth and shall die in the hands the darkness. Of course I'm here to help her with that…she's the one who created me after all."**_

"You sick being! How dare you involve my friends into this!"

"_**I'd worry more about you and Yahshi rather than Yugi and his problems. With you gone, Pharaoh, Master will grant me mortality over Isolde's body…" **_

"Just shut up and duel," Atemu growled.

"_**Duel for the power of love or the conquest over death…"**_

"Oh my King…please be careful." Yahshi whispered under her breath with closed eyes as if praying to the Gods of Egypt.

_**I…**_

_**Won't…**_

_**Let…**_

_**You…**_

_**Pull…**_

_**Me…**_

_**Down…**_

_(End of Song)_


	13. Origin of Egypt's Demise

Origin of Egypt's Demise; Fields of Innocence

_**Origin of Egypt's Demise; Fields of Innocence**_

_Songs Used –_

"_Fields of Innocence" and "Whisper" by Evanescence_

Yugi slothfully hiked through the murky tar that flooded the flooring. A few jagged frames of black thorns tore away his pants leg. He continuously had to fight his way out of the cruel forest of netted vines. All in all, transparent flakes of snow listlessly descended down from whatever sky there was.

"This place is horrible!" Yugi carped as he was scraped diagonally in the face by a sharp out sticking thorn. "Where am I anyway?!"

A vine caught on his ankle and caused him to collapse into the tar face first. "URGH!" he screeched while swiping the yuck off his face.

He wiped as much blackened muck off his clothes as possible. Yugi's eyes looked ahead and saw a small clearing centering the bunched vines. He made his way to the small opening, seeing some light, and pried his way out of his distress.

The sixteen year old boy paused when he saw a withering ruby rose growing from out of the tar once he escaped from the jungle of trailing plants. Its stem hung slouched over as shriveled up petals slowly began to fall, but once they hit the floor, they shattered like class. Now only three petals remained.

This is when he realized the dying plant was glass.

"_He loves me, he loves me not…"_

Yugi blinked four times and slowly crept out of the thicket and approached the flower. He gasped when he realized the plant was as giant as a tower compared to his size.

Indeed, it was a glass ruby rose that was losing its color of radiant red. He observed blood seeped in the bud of the rose, dribbling down the emerald stem in trickles.

"This is…Izzy's favorite flower…" Yugi whispered to himself.

His hand slowly hovered over the blood droplet. He touched the strolling dark red blood, and stared at it, smeared on his fingertip. The bloody blotch was so dark it could've been mistaken for black. Immediately, a painful screech pierced his heart. Yugi winced as the air turned chilly and into discoloration, and quickly his eyes dilated and went emptily blank.

_**/Random Flashbacks/**_

"_**Mom, will you swing me?" **__the small girl grinned sweetly as she sat in the swing._

_The woman's warm smile spread through the light. __**"Sure, sweetness." **_

_**/Flashback: 1/**_

_A shadowed man was flashed closer and closer to the screen of events_. _**"I gotcha'!" **__the man lifted the platinum blonde haired girl up to shoot the ball in the basketball_ _hop_. _**"Score!" **_

_**/Flashback: 2/**_

_The same shadowed man tucked a little three year old in bed was showed very quickly with the words echoing after the flash._ _**"Alright kiddo, in you go!" **_

_**/Flashback: 3/**_

"_**Look, just give me the cash up front right now and I'll pay you back later, alright?!" **__The shadowed man sneered, while his "associates" laughed, saying he was a joke, and tightening his tie as if mocking him. _

_**/Flashback: 4/**_

_The scared little girl sobbed loudly with her mouth hanging open as she continued to shake her dead mother for her to awake while people continued to run and scream._

_**Flashback: 5/**_

_A woman was coiled out on the grassy grounds, blood leaching from her forehead as her eye suddenly shot open in dilation. _

_**Flashback: 6/**_

_The tiny child backed into a polluted corner, eyes widely opened, nose bleeding_, _and looking scared to death_. _**"…D-Daddy…? DADDY?!"**_

This flashed a couple of times, just about draining happiness:

_The little nine year old was in the basement, hiding from something she feared everyday since the death of the woman important to her. Her white T-shirt was stained with red from her nosebleed. Her cheek had a deep slice across it and her arm was slightly battered as well. She whimpered and sobbed as she hid under a table. Her cerulean eyes were fearful of her fate once __**he**__ found her. She did something bad…at least that's what __**he**__ says… _

_The lights switched on. __**"And just what do you think you're doing down here?!" **_

_The silhouetted man filched her up. __**"I told you stop your pathetic weeping! We have GUESTS coming soon, and I want you to clean the BLOOD up in the KITCHEN." **__He yelled with ire as he slapped her across the face. The nine year old fell to the ground. The man then prepared to do something even more violent and abusive…_

A little girl's dying scream echoed in Yugi's mind.

Last image:

"_**STOP IT!!" **_

…..the face of a terrified girl pressed against the edges of Yugi's confused mind.

_**/End of Random Flash backs/ **_

Yugi found himself hunching to his knees and vomiting out bath water like he had just nearly drowned. His eyes were left dilated, his body full of sweat and throbbing twinges.

"…That was…." He panted chokingly. "…No, it can't be…"

**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW**

So…so that's what happened…that's why she's like this.

I panted more and found it hard, trying to catch a good breath. "…It _**was**_ her!" I shouted out loud. "It was her!"

I wiped sweat from my forehead and stared at the cracking rose. The plant was holding memories inside that made it die inside out! All the pain…all the suffering…all the memories…it can't take it. That's why it was shattering! But exactly what does all this mean…?

My ears heard the distant crackle of a television set's reception dysfunction. It sure sounded like that for when my TV's channels were blocked with colliding scattered colors of black and white. From the corner of my eye I saw the TV screen, hearing its destroyed reception screeching loudly as if in a horror movie. I turned around and saw its glass had cracks in its screen.

I crawled near it and stared only a few inches away from its screen, my eyes buggy. Slowly my knees bent as my hands found the floor, and gently I sat down up on the TV screen, eyes wider once the screen's picture suddenly shot clear….

**(End of Point of View)**_**Shadow Realms**_

Atemu was about to take the six cards from his deck, until a hefty gust of black winds blew the cards out of his hand and scattered his deck everywhere on the ground. "My deck!"

"_**You won't be needing worthless cards to play this game, Sa-Ra. We're going to play exactly how the ancient rulers played 5,000 years ago. Let's change the background, just to relive the ancient times, shall we? Or rather, to relive what you accomplished so greatly as a Sa-Ra…"**_ Maibe grinned under her veil as she licked her lips, her voice becoming a far-off hiss.

Atemu looked beneath him, seeing as the ground turned into black grains of sand, his foot raising up to see the specks falling from his feet. His eyes looked up, eyebrows furrowed. Atemu gasped and jolted back at the land before him drenched in blackness. Wood of towns and bricks burned and broken down in pieces, the air smothered in black smoke, pyramids no longer gold, but a burnt blackness with dry crumbling brick.

Yahshi stared at the land in repulsion, dried tears staining her skin while an opaque wind blustered against her cold cheeks. A stifled breath escaped her as her orbs quaked, her squeezing her eyes shut tightly as she looked away, face in a painful wince, tears forming in the wedges of her eyelashes.

Atemu looked up to the baleful skies, seeing a red pyramid built from the portal of the sky, its peak facing upside down as if a reflection of the original golden pyramid of Giza. This was the very second pyramid built of the beginning of old Egypt, the only one of perfection, The Red Pyramid.

(A/N: True tale…since the very first pyramid of Egypt was completely imperfect, but the Red Pyramid was the description of perfection, the second pyramid built in all Egypt.)

Gradually The Red Pyramid shaded into a black color of darkness.

The darkened winds propelled across the Pharaoh's path as he stared at Maibe across from him. His cards blew into the gloomy dark atmosphere of a corrupted Egypt.

"_**Look upon it, Sa-Ra, isn't it beautiful? It's the once beautiful creation you destroyed. Thanks to you, Egypt's fate was sealed."**_

Atemu furrowed his eyebrows as his orbs became a wider shade. Suddenly, a stream of gold light enclosed around his arm, shaping into some type of duel disk in the form of a golden wing, Ra's wing.

"_**These are what the Egyptians used to summon their Ka from their eternal slumbers. Call upon your Ka, King Atemu, successor of Sa-Ra Akunumkanon. Call upon it from its slumber and the duel of old era will begin if you wish to hold your Thema ever again…" **_

"…What's a 'Ka'?"

"In ancient Egypt, Ka is the soul of a dead person or thing, and is able to reside in a statue of that creature after its death. It's the spirit of your monster that you call upon…in this time, it's a duel monster…" Yahshi informed him in a hoarse and weakened voice. "…Just call the name of your duel monster, and he'll protect you…"

Atemu gazed at her, his eyes twinkling in sharp light as he nodded.

"_**Since the ages have slowed your mind, let me be the one to demonstrate the technique you so desperately forgot." **_Maibe raised her hand to the sky, a wave of black thunder rolling through the clouds. _**"I revive you, spirit of Havelus, come to me my loyal creature of the forgotten!"**_

A black brook soared down into her ancient duel disk of Egypt, engraving a symbol of a bird in the craved eye of Ra. A red fiery bird, neck long like a Peacock as well as large feathers, rose from the earth and before the Pharaoh, its beak opening to let out a terrible screech.

Maibe's grin stretched_**. "We shall still be using life energy of course, but do you see the eye engraved on your life sensor?"**_

Atemu's eyes fell upon the small eye of Ra etched in the gold wing attached to his wrist like a duel disk.

"_**When the game begins, there will be a light glowing within that eye, and it's how many monsters you lose and how affective the attack is, that will determine how much light diminishes in that eye. In other words, that light within the eye of Ra is the representation of your life energy. So make your move, Sa-Ra, call upon your Ka right now or else my phoenix of the flames will destroy you!"**_

Atemu gritted his teeth as sweat rolled down his temple. "Very well…" he nodded and stared at the wing duel disk on his arm.

As Maibe watched him, she could feel the doubt and distraction in his very heart.

"I call upon you," his Millennium item took on a bold radiance. "Celtic Guardian, terminate her Havelus and bring me salvation!"

The spirit of his warrior elf appeared on the black sand, swinging his sword as he stood his ground before the phoenix.

"Attack her now!!"

The elf ran forward with his sword positioned for the phoenix.

"_**Hippogrith, seal his monster's fate!" **_

A sudden beast with the upper body and wings of an eagle and the lower body of a horse charged forward and bucked Celtic Guardian away from the red phoenix.

Atemu gasped deeply in shock. "How is that possible?! Summoning a monster without it—"

"_**There are no rules in Ka combat, Sa-Ra. This isn't duel monsters, don't you remember?" **_Maibe smiled wickedly at her Pharaoh. _**"Now Havelus, attack him with your Heat Wave!" **_

Atemu stood there in absolute shock of it all as the large phoenix flew to the black clouds of corrupted Egypt, and swung its head to unleash a powerful chain of scarlet flames.

Atemu quickly shielded himself as his monster was burned into ashes, the heat of the fire reaching him in flickers. "Urgh, that heat!" Automatically his scream of pain escaped from his throat as he felt Celtic Guardian's agony flow through him until the monster became part of the black dust. The light inside the eye craved into his duel disk wing slowly diminished out of its corner.

A faint red stream flowed out of his body as Atemu became weaker. He fell to his knees in harsh and strangling pants and his sweat dripping from his chin.

"ATEMU!" Yahshi cried out as tears rolled down her cheeks. She squirmed to get free from her death trap. "Pharaoh please…! Just stop the duel right now!" Yahshi begged him, blood streaming down her wrists from the nails' wounding holes.

"…No…" Atemu choked out. "…I will not give you up to the shadows…!" a younger voice fused with his deep tone. He struggled to stand, swaying back and forth on his feet. "…I won't lose this duel…!" he shouted angrily with determination.

_**Darkness**_

Yugi stared widely at the broken yet functioning TV screen. It was a small home video of someone's past playing in the TV set:

"_**Honey, fix the camera set!"**__ a woman's kind voice yelled between laughs._

"_**Hold on, hold on, ah there we go!" **__a man's voice filled the picture as the screen was upside down and turned right side up. The vision closed in on the family. __**"Smile for the camera, Princess Isolde!" **_

_The small two year old laughs as she claps her hands, her mom tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she helps her little daughter walk across the yard lawn. Quickly the little girl frees herself from her mother's support and trots across the backyard grass all by herself._

"_**Look at that little ball of fire go, she's running a mile all by herself." **__the man filming laughs as his daughter looks at the camera while she continues to run as he films behind her._

_Since the two year old was only staring and giggling at the camera, she hadn't been looking ahead at where she was running. All of the sudden she runs off toward the side, still looking at the camera, and falls into a thorn bush. …Crying was heard…_

"_**Oh…uh-oh."**__ The man filming commented. _

"_**Nathan, turn off that camera!" **_

Yugi laughed slightly.

The video camera went to another scene:

"_**Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Izzy! Happy birthday to you!"**__ family and friends sang as Izzy licks her lips, staring hungrily at the cake. _

"_**Blow out the candles, Izzy!" **__the camera man encourages. __**"And don't forget to make your wish!" **_

"_**A wish?"**__ the nine year old repeats. __**"Hm, a wish…what should I wish for? Oh, I know!" **_

_Just before she puffed her cheeks up to blow out her candles, a gun shot is fired. Moments later screaming followed, and the camera directs to the shooter._

Yugi's smile slowly faded…

_The camera fixes on three thugs fleeing to their car and slamming the doors shut as they ride off with the tires' rubber skidding across the ground, causing smoke to follow. _

_The camera then runs its sights to people screaming and running. The vision focuses on a body lying across the floor, and as the lenses' vision clears, the body is now identified. _

_Isolde sits there gripping the shirt of her dead mother, crying and sobbing loudly…_

_The man filming hollers in a painful scream of fury as he drops the camera. The lens direct to grass blades and people's feet passing by swiftly._

Yugi's heart sank as his own tears welled in the corner of his eyes:

_The child sat next to her lifeless mother and held her knees up to face and rocked back in forth with tears rolling down her face. She couldn't stop rocking herself, too afraid and shocked at the discovery of her dead mother_. _**"…Daddy?" **__she sobbed and sniffled_. _**"…What's wrong with her…? Why isn't she waking?" **_

_Her father was pacing back and forth, holding his head and furiously crying and cursing to himself. __**"How could this happen…? How could they fall back like this?" **_

"…_**Daddy…?"**_ _the little one whined mournfully. _

_He punched a white table in anger and quickly walked toward the girl_. _**"Go get me the phone!" **_

_The girl began to shake uncontrollably as she ran for the phone and handed it to her dad. Her face was red and moist with tears. __**"…Daddy…is God mad at us…?"**_

_The father grabbed the phone and dialed "911," ignoring his daughter's question._

Yugi felt he had enough of this horror moving, but the replays of agony were not over….

_Elementary children gathered around to throw and hit the seven year old with large stones and twigs or other thinking they could find. __**"Go home freak! You don't belong here!" **_

_She struggled to run as ten or more children continued to throw things at her. A stone hit her forehead and it began to bleed. __**"…Leave me alone…!" **_

Yugi struggled to watch the screen.

_The blonde-haired nine year old stared at the keys of her brand new piano, empty-eyed. _

"_**Isn't it gorgeous? I bought it especially for you. And I want you to learn this song and play it every day for me."**__ Her father handed a music book to her, grinning._

_Isolde's disgruntled face rose to him. __**"…Daddy…I'm not MOM. I don't know how to play this song like she does—"**_

"_**Which is why I want you to LEARN lessons—"**_

The black and white dots appeared across the screen of the television set before transferring the image into a new event:

"_**N-Neh…"**__ The tiny Isolde sniveled, slumped over the bloody keys of her piano. She touched the black of her bloodied noggin, sobbing as she strained to stay conscious. _

"_**Do as I FUCKING say, god damn it." **__Her father sat straddled out over the sofa after launching a beer bottle at the back of her head._

After this, the TV went back to black and white colors of unclearness. But at the same time, one last thing was heard:

"_**STOP IT!!" **_

Yugi winched in pain as his heart was became sore. Some tears of pity welled in his eyes. "Why on earth…would someone want to do that to their own daughter…?"

A light glowed from the TV set, alerting Yugi. He stopped his tears from coming and stared widely at the screen.

"What's…what's going!?" he stood up and fell back as the intense smolder seemed to get brighter. "What's happening?!"

There was a dreadful squealing noise within the light that hurt Yugi's ears severely. He held his hands over his eardrums and struggled to ignore the sting. All of the sudden, the light's excel grew superior and brighter and soon enough, coated the blackness of the background.

_**Shadow Realm**_

**Atemu**

**Life Energy: 976**

**Maibe**

**Life Energy: 3000**

Maibe pressed her hand against her chest as she patted the black cloak's robbing. _**"…I still have all my streams of life inside of me, while you seem to be losing too much. What's wrong, my Sa-Ra? A bit too real for you…?" **_wickedly she laughed. _**"Did I mention whoever loses the duel will also be the one dead afterwards?" **_

Atemu couldn't afford to lose anymore life energy, no, for every monster he lost was the cost of even a little of his life's soul slipping away.

His eyes met Yahshi's scared ones as his own filled up with regret, looking away from her. "…I'm sorry I brought you into all this…" he whispered sadly, voice trembling.

She hated to see him this way. She wanted it all to end, just end it all right here right now. It was like watching her own life slip away when as her beautiful Pharaoh went through pain. It was above all sins, all nightmares, all tortures to see Yami Yugi Pharaoh Atemu go through so much agony…she wanted to die. She wanted to ask the Gods if they would be so generous to end her life if she had to see anymore of it.

Atemu glared back at Maibe between squints. "…I summon…Deceitful Vixen to the grounds…come to me, my fox of tricks and lies…" the symbol of his fox imprinted in his ancient duel disk of winged Ra.

A small three-tailed red fox came running from behind Atemu and in front of Maibe's soaring monsters. A black strip was tied around its eyes as if it were to be a robber.

"_**Is that it? Is that all you have for me to destroy? I was expecting more from you, Sa-Ra."  
**_

Atemu narrowed his eyes. "Well forgive me if I disappointed you…"

"_**Apology accepted." **_Maibe turned to her Hippogrith who stood beside her. _**"…Destroy it."**_

The half bird half eagle reared back on his hind legs and galloped after the small vixen, lunging out at it with his sharp beak.

Atemu suddenly smiled weakly. "You just made a costly mistake…"

"_**What are you talking about?!" **_

"Watch and learn, _Maibe_."

Maibe gritted her teeth under her hood. _**"Hippogrith, halt!" **_

But it was too late, for right when the mythical beast was about to take and crush the small female fox between his beak, a golden light surrounded his boundaries in the black sand.

"My Vixen has her own technique, for when any creature threatens her, she automatically activates one of her traps and imprisons all monsters on the field, including your Havelus."

The large bird soaring across the sky was quickly trapped by the imprisoning streams of light.

Quickly both Havelus and Hippogrith were dragged under the black sands of the earth by the streams of light wrapping around their beaks and legs like whips and ropes.

The Deceitful Vixen scurried after Maibe, seeking an opening bite. It pounced into the air and seized her arm violently, Maibe barely managing to toss the red fox out of sight. Both these assaults hurt her life energy boundaries badly.

The black stream departed from her body this time, Maibe bending over in pain at this. Out of fury, she yanked herself back up onto her feet and growled viciously at Atemu. _**"THEN SO BE IT, ATEMU! COME FORTH, ANICENT BENNU OF EGYPT!" **_

Between the heights of the Egyptian pyramids came the colossal wings of the ancient Egyptian phoenix, Bennu. The long heron neck rose from the black sands, its beak tapered and long as it let out a high pitched cry, rumbling the very earth. The wide length of its wings tipped with bronzed gold expanded over the black winds before it took flight and tucked its long legs under its belly. The massive bird ascended over the black smolders of Egypt and above Maibe, screeching over the Pharaoh and startling a tornado of wind.

"_**NOW MY ANICENT PET, CRUSH HIS LITTLE FOX!" **_Maibe held out her hand as she directed her colossal bird's attention to Atemu's vixen.

The large heron foot of the Egyptian phoenix quickly trampled the small fox, crushing it into the sand as a whimpered yelp was heard like a puppy's whine.

Atemu winced as he bent over quickly, clutching the fabric of his shirt. He struggled to breathe as sweat dripped from the tip of his nose. The fingers clutching his chest seemed to quiver as he felt his very life slip away, literally.

"PHARAOH FORFEIT THE DUEL! I_** DEMAND **_YOU." Yahshi ordered ruthlessly.

"_**She's right you know. To continue this duel would be noble of you, ill-advised, but noble…"**_

**Atemu**

**Life Energy: 700**

**Maibe**

**Life Energy: 1042**

_**Darkness**_

Yugi opened his eyes and blinked once or twice. He moaned in slight dazes and blurs. "…Okay, where am I now…?"

_**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW**_

Oh finally I was in the background of an actual street. Though there was nothing so cheerful about how ghostly and trashed it looked. I looked ahead and seemed to be standing on a doorstep. Hesitation reached me as I longed to the ring the door bell to perhaps get some help in where I am. But once I pressed the bell, the knob or button of it instantly fell off.

"…That's strange…"

I, this time, knocked on the door about five times and no one answered it.

"Hello? Hellooooo! Anyone at home?!"

I suddenly heard shuffling and dishes breaking. My body moved in front of the window. I peered through it. There was a kitchen visible, and it looked like a little girl, with hair was blonde as white and a pink bow tied behind her head. She was wearing a fancy pink dress of ruffles and bows, like she was attending a party. But I guess the party was already there, since I could hear laughter and conversation going on from the light of the living room. Her big greenish blue eyes were bright and reminded me of…Izzy's…

"…No way…!" I breathed.

I had guessed earlier this same little one was her! But then…does this mean I'm in her mind?!

Her eyes looked scared as she stared at the messy pieces of broken glass on the floor. I examined the accident and concluded that maybe all those plates in the cabinet accidentally fell and hit the floor. But gees, there was glass on the counter, glass on the floor and everywhere else.

I felt an electrical shock when her fearful eyes slowly turned to me…

"_Isolde…what…did…you…DO?! Are you trying to EMBARRASS ME?!"_ A deep voice rasped in fury.

I watched from the window as the little girl turned around and stared at someone behind her. She looked petrified! "…_I-I-I didn't mean to_…" she explained to the shadow.

I flinched slightly in my own fear, my fingertips pressing against the glass.

The stranger, or man I've been seeing in flashbacks, looked around at the mess she made. _"You disgusting, clumsy, little bitch!" _

"Back off! She didn't do anything wrong!" I yelled against the glass.

My eyes widened as I couldn't believe how this guy was acting! I hoped he wasn't gonna do anything harmful to her!—I was of course wrong…

The kid backed up slowly, staring into the eyes of this huge guy. _"…I swear I didn't mean to…! It was only an accident! I swear!" _

"_You fuck up all my shit every fucking day! You're a female for God's sake, can't you do your DUTY CORRECTLY?!" _He walked closer as I saw her move back against the counter, shuffling silverware.

"What's he gonna do?" I asked no one in particular but myself. I pressed my face against the glass.

"_Daddy I told you I didn't mean it!" _Tears welled in her eyes as I observed. _"Please…please I beg you not to hit me…! I won't do it again!" _She was getting desperate in pleads now as she backed out of my view though I could still hear whimpers and sobs. _"…I promise I won't…and I'm sorry that I did it…"_

"_Being sorry isn't enough! Who's going to pay for all these broken dishes now!?" _

"NO!! LEAVE HER ALONE!!" I banged on the window, trying to get the man's attention to keep from beating the little girl. "IT WAS ONLY AN ACCIDENT!"

I saw the man glance my way in a glare, suddenly approaching the window I stood at and closing the blinds. I gasped silently and pounded the glass. "HEY! HEEEYY!" I tried to at least get his attention.

By now, my ears could only hear her loud and painful screams, sobs, cries for help. I could hear powerful blows of continuous slaps and beats. My eyes went wide in fear for her safety. Deep down in my heart…I was scared…I was…hurting too. I had to do something!

"STOP IT!" I cried out.

I gritted my teeth under being sick of hearing her torture. Finally I decided to try and enter. My hands fiddled with the doorknob, but it was locked. I could still hear those horrible screams of agony.

"HANG ON!!"

I pounded on the door—that did nothing! I banged up against the door, hitting it with my side to try and break it down—that did nothing! I wasn't that strong, that could have been why it never worked.

"…_HELP ME!!"_ the little girl cried.

I had to do something _**now**_!!

"I'M COMING! JUST HANG ON, IZZY!!"

Suddenly, her cries stopped. It was quiet for a long time...

I listened up against the door, hearing nothing. I growled and with one final burst of energy, knocked down the door. I stood on the fallen door and panted with sweat clung to my face… "…I'm…here…" I looked around…and no one, nothing was there! The whole area was surrounded by darkness; like the shadow realms had been.

"What the…!"

I suddenly felt no weight of gravity underneath my feet; I felt air. I blinked several times in confusion but suddenly the entire scenery started to drop down as so did I.

(**End of point of view)Shadow Realms**

"_**Get up, Sa-Ra." **_Maibe frowned. _**"Get up so I can knock you back down." **_

Yami Atemu narrowed his eyes and slowly stood up within aching muscles. "…Hold your tongue, witch, and behave…" He panted hastily. "Or do I need to teach you the meaning of manners…?"

Maibe only smirked. _**"Hold your own tongue, or do I have to teach you the meaning of pain?" **_

"…Don't mock me…!"

Yahshi bit her lip in uncertainty in believing him saying he'll never leave her. But now that promised seemed lost forever…lost in the depths of the dark sands of the once gorgeous Egyptian land.

"_**Your move, **__**your highness**___Maibe bowed in fakery.

The Pharaoh stared at the floor beneath him in hopelessness.

"_**I said your move." **_

"I HEARD YOU!" He scowled. Quickly Atemu summoned his Ka, Mystical Fairy.

The stunning woman with butterfly wings clasped her hands together and chanted a spell, rime crystals escaping her body form.

"…Mystical Fairy is the cousin of Mystical elf, chanting her spell of revival for her master..."

The fairy's wings barricaded her body as her form shaped into a blue light, slowly flowing towards Atemu and entering his soul. Quickly his life energy gained another 100.

**Atemu**

**Life Energy: 800**

Yahshi sighed, and nearly fainted in relief.

"_**What a waste of energy and time. I'll grasp your life energy between my fingers once again, and make sure that your spirit does not get another chance to appear on the face of this earth, whether within a Millennium artifact or full body form. I'll destroy you again and lock your pathetic soul away! Then I can claim to be ruler of this universe with you and your queen's Millennium items." **_ Maibe grinned, looking upon an imprisoned Yahshi.

The queen strained her eyes open wider in fear as she jerked back, gazing into the demonic woman's red eye of murder.

Maibe laughed aloud gruesomely. _**"Amazing, that I'll be able to kill **__**you**__** twice in one lifetime. What a sport this is, don't you agree, Thema of all Egypt and traitor of your own family?" **_

Yahshi cringed, saying through weak trembles, "D-don't you dare talk about my life history, Maibe…know your place amongst royalty."

"_**Oh forgive me for not being more respectful to my enemy, my Thema. But I don't bow down to weaklings, and we all know you're the top amongst all feeble creatures, Yahshi. You hide behind your King, thinking he'll always be there to protect you! You never have the bravery to stand up for yourself; all you can do is depend on others, especially your Sa-Ra, to do your biddings!" **_

Yahshi jerked her head up as her amber eyes turned a dark shade of blankness, drowning in the belief of Maibe's facts. Shamefully, she lowered her head with her eyes squeezed shut in misery.

Atemu directed eyes toward Yahshi, noticing her exposed emotional wounds. "Don't let her get to you!"

She raised her head to look at him with terrified and unsure eyes. "But…what if she's right…?"

Atemu stared into her radiant eyes, seeing all her fear flame and ballet like ghostly luminosities against them. "She's a liar, she doesn't know truth. You've never been that way, I've known you long enough…"

Yahshi shook her head as she bit her lip with tears flowing under her eyes. "No…you haven't. You forgot me, remember? We forgot each other for 5 millennia; we don't even know each other anymore…"

The witch turned toward him with an angered face. _**"I AM RIGHT!! AND EVEN YOU BELIEVE IT, KING ATEMU!!" **_

He clenched his fists in rage. "DON'T YOU_ DARE_ CONFIRM WHAT_ I _BELIEVE IN! YOU KNOW _**NOTHING**_ OF ME!"

"_**Yahshi thinks you'll always be here to save her from ME! She thinks you'll always be here to come back to her! To revive and protect her trembling soul from my reach! She fears me like a child scared of the dark! That's all she is, a child!" **_Maibe suddenly let out a deep grumble, laughing under her breath insanely. _**"Well this time, you won't be coming back…" **_

Tears set across the young queen's infuriated eyes. "O-Once I break free from here, I will rip you APART!"

"_**Stay out of this!!" **_ Maibe raised her hand to Gods above, a wind swirling against them all. _**"Come to my call, Satanic Seraph, Mindless Slave!!" **_

Satanic Seraph was a small creature, the dark side or version of cupid. It soared down from the dark clouds with its black bow and arrow, devil horns on its head.

It smiled wickedly at Atemu with full black orbs.

_**Darkness**_

Yugi laid spiraled out on the dark abyss in stillness. His body gleamed a faint cerulean blue and his hair was wavering with an airless breeze. The cold eeriness of the atmosphere woke him softly. He stirred once, and opened his dazed eyes to find the black ground.

"…_He's gone again…" _

Yugi blinked as he heard the small voice echo in the dark.

"…_He said it was urgent…and he had to stay late."_

He raised his head and looked ahead of him, silently mouthing, "…N-No way…"

"…_I'm here alone…all by myself again. Dad promised he'd be back…he promised…"_

Yugi's amethyst eyes seemed to grow a darker shade as they widened.

That little nine year old girl was up his endless path, sitting alone with her arms hugging her knees. Her whitish blonde strands surrounded her as she quivered. Black shackles chained her neck, wrists and feet as if she were a slave.

_(Song, "Fields of Innocence by Evanescence")_

_**(I…**_

_**Still**_

_**Re-member**_

_**The world…**_

_**From the**_

_**Eyes **_

_**Of a Child…)**_

Yugi sat up, seeing she was feet away. "…Izzy…?"

"…_Why won't anyone stay with me anymore...?" _she asked the air as she buried her face into her knees. _"…Why won't anyone love me anymore…?" _

An older Isolde (sixteen) suddenly appeared standing upside down beneath the small one like an older reflection, a black lace of shackles around her collar, wrists, and feet. And as Yugi looked closer, he noticed that both the child and teenaged Isoldes' chains were conjoined as if they were chained mutually by the neck, wrists and feet.

"…_**It hurts doesn't it…?" **_ She asked her more youthful side.

_**(Slow-ly**_

_**Those **_

_**Feelings…**_

_**Were cloud-ed by**_

_**What…**_

_**I know now…)**_

The nine year old Isolde looked down at her older self beneath her. _"…Yes…" _she held her hands to her heart. _"…It hurts right here…" _

She closed her eyes. _**"It's where your heart is…"**_

"_My heart?"_

The older self's hand caressed her own heart as she whispered ever so meekly, _**"…Ever since mom died…it has always been in pain. Your heart hurts, because we have no one right here." **_Her fingers rested over her torso. _**"We can't find our heart, though…"**_

_**(Where has**_

_**My heart**_

_**Gone…?)**_

Tears filled up in the youngster's blue eyes as she looked into the darkness beneath her to stare at the older one in heart break. _"…Why won't anyone love me anymore…not papa, not the kids at school, why does everyone want to hurt me…? Why can't I find my innocence?" _

_**(An uneven trade for the**_

_**Real**_

_**World…**_

_**Oh I,**_

_**I want to go back to**_

_**Believing in everything **_

_**And knowing nothing at all)**_

The older one smiled weakly, lips quivering. _**"…Because we are different…our heart isn't like the rest. We ache inside, and we can't be healed. Unless we find someone…who can cure us and break the curse from the past."**_

The nine year old's tears stopped falling as she gave her older self a look of surprise. _"…Does he… love me for who I am…?" _

Yugi watched closely and instantly whispered, "Yes…"

"_**I don't know how he feels for us…"**_

"_Then how do you know he loves me…?" _

"_**He said he cares, he promised to protect us…and I believe in him. Our heart hurts even more; because he is not here…when he is here, we are happy. When he is here, we can remember the love of the warm sun." **_

"…_You don't know if he loves me though…how can I be happy guessing?" _

The older Izzy was pulled from out of the darkness beneath her and sat in front of her, stroking her bangs _**"I know one thing," **_

"…_What…?" _

_**(I…**_

_**Still**_

_**Re-member**_

_**The sun**_

_**Always**_

_**Warm on my back**_

_**Somehow **_

_**It seems**_

_**Colder now…)**_

"_**How we feel about him." **_

The little one gasped as her cheeks reddened. _"Do I love him?"_ she whispered as if it were a dangerous secret, furrowing her eyebrows as she leaned in.

The older one just smiled as her thumb wiped the dried blood from her cheek, _**"What does our heart say?" **_

Yugi waited eagerly for this answer.

"…_It says…" _she thought hard. _"…It says…it says…"_ her eyes shot open. _"…It says I have doubts…"_

"_**Doubts that he is the one…because he won't tell us?" **_

Yugi's heart cracked. _She doubts me?_

"_No," _she tossed her head childishly. _"It says I can't let go…I have doubts he is the one, because I'm really, really scared. My heart says…it is scared. Why is it scared?"_

_**(Where has my heart gone…? **_

_**Trapped in the eyes of a**_

_**Stranger**___

"_**To let go…we're not used to love anymore. Pain, suffering, neglected, is all we know. We can not open to love having not learnt it in years. "**_

Seven year old Izzy shook away her tears. _"…But I want love!" _

"…_**Then can we let go of our past?"**_

"…_I don't know…"_

"_**Then we can never have love. We can have pain and torment, but we may never have love."**_

"_But that's not fair!! All I want is someone that's special…that one who will love me for who I am…that one who will promise to stay with me forever…and be next to me when I'm lonely. I want someone to hold me and just say 'I love you' and never disappear…I want it…from only the one who was made just for me…I want Jesus to grant me LOVE." _

_**(Oh I,**_

_**I want to go back to…**_

_**Believing in everything )**_

_**(Latin Hymn Translation) **_

_**O Jesus, King most wonderful  
the conqueror renowned  
the sweetness most ineffable,  
entirely desirable**_

"_**But didn't we find him? Yet we can't have him…" **_

She shook her head. _"…It hurts when I'm next to him…and I can't really do anything, but know we're only friends. It hurts to see him hurt and ache or rot away. It hurts to see him and want to say something I wish I could, but I can't because those mean shadows won't let me. It is painful because…" _she looked into her older self's eyes. _"…I can't have him…" _tears began to fall but she quickly wiped them away forcefully in frustration. _"I don't know if he feels for me…so I won't think anything anymore! But then again, I just know that I want to love someone that can love me back so I can live on knowing someone does care for me, and then let them go quickly so they won't get hurt! I just want to know, and that's all. I want to know, and then smile kindly and walk away, never seeing them again. I'll be happy…if I know__**. She**__ won't let me have that person."_ A shadow appeared loomed over her, red eyes ablaze.

"_**What may make someone else happy might make the other sad."**_

"…_I don't want to feel pain…anymore…" _

_**(As the years pass by**_

_**Before my face**_

_**As wars rage before me)**_

"_**No, Izzy." **_The older self slowly took the youngster's strands into her fingers as they slid. _**"To find that special someone we must let go of the past and move on…don't we…?" **_

"…_I can't…"_ The seven year old girl whimpered, pulling away. _"…I am apart of you and together we can never let it go…!" _her tone was demanding.

_**(Finding myself**_

_**In these last days of existence)**_

Sixteen year old Isolde's smile went away. _**"…We want to be happy…and loved again…don't we?" **_

The nine year old shook her head again. _"Love is happiness! Happiness is love! I can't smile when he's not here!" _

"…_**Which means, **__**he**__** makes us happy inside…" **_the older Juliet held her hands over her heart as she closed her eyes with her hair wavering. _**"He reminds us what true happiness is…he reminds us how it feels to be loved and cared for again…Yet we don't know if he cares for us in that special way…" **_

The little one buried her face into her older self and sobbed. _"No! No! No! I give up! No one will care! I give up living in fear and dark regret! I want out!"_ she cried. _"…No one will love me…!" _she started to sob louder.

"…That's not true…" Yugi whispered. "…That's not ever true…"

The mature Isolde's eyelids dropped as she stroked the young one's back. _**"…You can't love, you don't know how. Unless you let go, and depart from my mind, we will never know how to love…"**_

_**(This parasite inside me,**_

_**I forced it out)**_

"_Why are you being so mean?"_ her muffled whimpered whispers. _"Why do you keep saying I can't be loved because I don't know how!?"_

She just continued to stroke her head and held her in chains. _**"…Unless I let go of you, we shall never be loved…"**_ slowly the shadows hulled her beneath the dark ground and away from the tearful nine year old.

_**(In the darkness of the storm**_

_**Lies an evil,**_

_**But it's me…)**_

Yugi decided he needed to take action. Quietly, Yugi kneeled down next to the seven year old who was gazing out into space as if she had just seen something horrifying. "Hey, it's gonna be okay…."

The little girl gasped and turned her head to him. Quickly she flew back and crawled away, the chain's end in the shadowed floor yanking her back into her spot. _"Stay away from me!"_

**YUGI'S P.O.V.**

She was scared, I know; I saw it in her blue eyes as she turned back to gaze at me.

"I won't hurt you." I smiled, coming near her as she scurried backwards.

"…_B-but…everyone else does…" _

I felt shocked. How could anyone treat this girl this way? How could anyone not love her?

"I'm not everyone else…" I kneeled down in front of her again.

There was a long pause. She was examining my eyes as I stroked the top of her head, smiling friendlily.

"…_You're different…" _

I smiled at her and her child tone of voice. "…I heard you say you don't think anyone loves you, back there."

She nodded slowly. _"It's true!" _

"Why do you think that?"

"…_Cuz mum died and she promised she'd never leave me! Dad beats me and abandons me, and he promised he'd always be there for me! My old friends promised to always help me, and all they do is throw rocks at me and make fun of me cuz I'm different!" _she looked down with tears welling up. _"…Everyone hates me…it's so UNFAIR. Why'd the world steal my heart from me?" _

_**(Where has my heart gone?**_

_**An uneven trade for the real**_

_**World)**_

"No one hates you. In fact I think I know someone out there who loves you, dearly."

"…_Really…?"_ she looked happy all of the sudden. _"Does he have a name?" _

"Well I'm not sure, but he is your closet and most secretive admirer."

"_But does he think I'm pretty?" _

I shook my head. "No."

She frowned confusedly. _"Does he want to be with me forever?" _

"No."

"…_If I were to walk away or leave…would he miss me and cry?" _

"No."

She looked seriously troubled now. _"Then…how can he love me if I'm not any of those things to him…!"_

_**(Oh I,**_

_**I want to go back to**_

_**Believing in everything)**_

I smiled widely, knowing she had no clue what I was going to say. "He doesn't think you're pretty, he thinks you're _**beautiful**_. He doesn't _**want**_ to be with you forever, he_** needs**_ to be with you forever. He would never miss or cry for you if you walked away and left…he'd die for you…Isolde."

"_He…would?" _

I sat down beside her as she eyed me curiously, crawling up beside me. "You see, he loves you more than any treasure, any valuable money or item, and anyone. Because, in his eyes…you are his treasure…you are his value and you are important to him more than life itself. Without you, he'll never be complete."

"_But…I'm different. I'm not like everyone else…" _

"That's why he loves you."

The red streaks lined her cheeks.

"You are everything he's not in some ways. Izzy, without you, he's not whole."

I could see that warm happiness in her eyes that made me happy. _"… If I found him and his love in his heart…my heart will truly be happy…but I have not…" _tears welled in her eyes again. _"…I want this person to come forth and say he loves me…I want him to tell me…I can then be happy if I know through his words and eyes that he truly loves me…" _she looked back up to me and into my eyes. _"…I do not know how to love. I am afraid that…"_

_**(Oh where,**_

_**Where has my heart gone?)**_

"Afraid of what?"

"…_Afraid that if…if he tells me he loves me, I'll make us both cry…"_

I blinked. "But—"

"…_Tell him something for me,"_ she interrupted, lips barely mouthing. _"Give him this message,"_ her eyes raised up to me, lips parting as she spoke and leaned forward, her eyes distant apparitions. _"… 'I love you'…" _

_**(Trapped in the eyes of a**_

_**Stranger**_

_**Oh I,**_

_**I want to go back to**_

_**Believing in everything…)**_

My heart rate dropped.

Immediately, before I could say anything, the darkness clamped black hands over her mouth and body, a tear falling from her eye just before she was yanked beneath the shadowy floor by the chains connected, ripples in the darkness like water where she sat and disappeared.

_**(Oh where,**_

_**Where has my heart gone…?**_

_**Trapped in the eyes of a**_

_**Stranger**_

_**An uneven trade for the real world…)**_

I stared widely into space, thinking over and over…did she, really love me? Even though she hadn't even known who I was talking about? No…

A large light over beamed my sight for one second. And I was suddenly back in front of the broken TV.

I knew now what I had to do…

The childhood version of Isolde shown upon the screen, her childlike smile wide and…happy. But it was a still motion caption of what she USED to be…

This was her mind, her field of the mockery of innocence…

_**(I…**_

_**Still…**_

_**Re-member…**_

_**The world…)**_

_**Shadow Realms (End of P.O.V.)**_

From the depths of the sand came a small little girl around the age of nine shadowed in darkness, with long blonde hair half tied to a bow and turquoise eyes. Her wrists, legs, and neck were clamped in black chains.

Atemu halted, light in his orbs trembling. "…Is that…?"

"…Isolde…" Yahshi whispered faintly, slow tears dripping off her cheeks and dampening the black sand beneath her knees. "…The corrupted side of her mind…"

Slowly her blank eyes rose to look upon the Pharaoh, her face beat and wounded.

_**(In the darkness of the storm**_

_**Lies an evil,**_

_**But it's me…**_

_**Oh where,**_

_**Where has my heart gone…?**_

_**Trapped in the eyes of a**_

_**Stranger…)**_

"_**Satanic Seraph, destroy him!"**_

The devil did as told and positioned his arrow steady, drawing back his arrow as he directed the sharp point for Atemu.

Atemu's eyes went wide as he watched the point's sharpness arrowed to him, him only.

The devil squinted and let go of the arrow freely, giggling insanely.

And just like that, the arrow's point pierced through his skin and into his chest, almost reaching the core of his heart.

Atemu's eyes became wide saucers as all life seemed to stop before his eyes. He fell to his knees, gagging and choking, struggling to breathe again. He felt a part of him dying…a part of him already passing away in darkness. A large portion of thick life energy slowly left his body. Atemu truly wanted to die now…this pain was just too real.

"_**ATEMU…!"**_ Yahshi screamed loudly for him, her tears blinding her vision.

The Satanic Seraph flew over him, putting his hands on the arrow's staff, and brutally jerking it out of the Pharaoh's chest, causing both him and Yahshi to holler out in agony.

"_**I'm not finished, Atemu..." **_Maibe ordered her next monster to attack. _**"Kill him, my Mindless Slave…"**_

The duplicate of a nine year old Isolde cocked her as she looked to Atemu, her vacant blue eye narrowing. The girl leaned forward and used the support of her hands to stand up, gazing at Atemu from afar.

_**(I…**_

_**Still**_

_**Re-member**_

_**The world…**_

_**From the**_

_**Eyes **_

_**Of a Child…**_

_**Slow-ly**_

_**Those **_

_**Feelings…**_

_**Were cloud-ed by**_

_**What…**_

_**I am now…)**_

"…Isolde…" he whispered, disbelieving.

The girl's form slowly faded away in the darkness.

Both Yahshi and Atemu flinched and gasped at this.

Atemu then stood up on his feet, panting harder than ever as he held his hand over his bloodless wound.

"_**I'd watch your back if I were you, Sa-Ra." **_

Atemu blinked in confusion.

"Pharaoh, she's behind you!" Yahshi warned.

Atemu froze as he could feel the presence of the mindless slave behind him, her eyes piercing into his very back like a prickly sensation. Gradually, a pure black and rusted dagger rose from the image of young Isolde's side.

_**(In the darkness of the storm**_

_**Lies an evil,**_

_**But it's me…)**_

In a moment's notice, Atemu's roar of deep pain echoed throughout the dead land of Egypt as the dagger burst through his stomach in the blood colored air.

Yahshi looked away as more tears streamed from her squeezed shut eyes. "PLEASE, STOP! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! ISOLDE, STOP THIS!" she sobbed loudly, her screams echoing along with his painful screeches.

The dagger was jerked out of his skin as he fell onto his hands and knees. His life energy parted from him again, this time more than before…

A slow and bright smile broke free on the image of Isolde's face. Her eyes glinted with innocence.

_**(Oh where,**_

_**Where has my heart gone…?**_

_**Trapped in the eyes of a**_

_**Stranger)**_

Something beneath the sand yanked her chains under the earth and out of sight.

_**(An uneven trade for the real world…)**_

_(End of Song) _

"_**Oh I'm not through with you yet! ANICENT BENNU!!" **_

The Egyptian sunbird resembling a heron raised its head to its master's call.

All the Pharaoh could do was stare as the magnificent ancient bird, identified to the sun god, Ra, symbol of Osiris incarnate, took flight into the air, the two long feathers on the crest of its head swinging against the blowing winds.

"_**ANICENT BENNU, BA OF RA ("Soul of Ra") TERMINATE THE SA-RA FOR GOOD!" **_

The ancient sunbird, Bennu, swung its head about and summoned the pure red flames from its throat and into the black sand, traveling towards Atemu in a large fireball.__

Bennu's flames clashed against Atemu's body.

Maibe laughed insanely to herself, practically dying of laughter. __

After the uproar of flames vanished through the trail, Yahshi opened her eyes to see a still standing Atemu. Streams of smokes escaped his burned body and reached to the open skies to smother the air with a smelly filth. His eyes were tightly shut as his eyebrows knit against each other, wrinkled down on his forehead with his teeth clenched painfully. Sweat continued to flood down his face, his mouth wide open while he panted desperately for air. Finally Atemu just couldn't take it. He fell spiraled out in the sands, completely out cold, completely out of it, completely unconscious as almost all his life energy drained out of his very soul…

_(Song, "Whisper by Evanescence") _

_**(Catch me as I fall…)**_

**Atemu**

**Life Energy: 100 **

**Maibe**

**Life Energy: 1000**

Yahshi stared at his lifeless body lying there in the sand in horror. There was only so much she could take of this. She was about to scream out his name, but her voice was too sore and shocked by seeing her beloved King on the floor in defeat. _Please…someone kill me now…_

_**(Say you're here and it's all over now)**_

Atemu's eyes slowly opened only slightly under his eyelids. His deep amethyst orbs sparkled with a dim light against their color…

"…Yahshi…" he silently whispered in hoarseness. "…I tried…"

_**(Speaking to the atmosphere**_

_**No one's here and I fall into myself**_

**(Shadow Realms) **

"No…don't do this to me…" Yahshi whispered painfully between regret and sorrow. "…No, my King…please get up, Atemu! Stand on your feet! You can't give up now! You can't lose this duel and your soul hand in hand! If you did I'd…." more icy cold tears ran over her face as she leaned forward with her bangs shadowing her eyes. "…I…I wouldn't know what to do…"

Atemu's eyes fell lower as the light twinkling within them was ready to die out.

_**(Fallen angels at my feet**_

_**Whispered voices at my feet**_

_**Death before my eyes**_

_**Lying next to me, I fear**_

_**She beckons me, Shall I give in?)**_

"Atemu you have to win this battle! She's going to kill you if you don't…! You can't let her take claim over you, and leave me here without you by my side…" Yahshi's words were turning into sobs. "…YOU JUST CAN'T!! You-you promised not to leave me…you swore, you swore it to Ra, and you swore it on the day of our wed."

Atemu opened his eyes wider, listening to her voice as he stayed on the floor. Random flashs of him and present time with her flashed before him…he was missing it all….

_**(Don't**_

_**Turn away**_

_**Don't give into**_

_**The pain**_

_**Though death's screaming your name)**_

"…Pharaoh…" Yahshi pleaded once more, her teeth gritted. Every breath she took sounded stifled as if she was having trouble, as if she were being smothered. Her eyelids lowered as her amber eyes gazed at the silver cartouche pendant hanging around her neck. "…Forgive me for doubting you…but on that day Maibe took my life and took me away from you forever, she convinced me that you would not always be there to save me…to bestow your oath to me…to save me when I needed you most. I'm so sorry I doubted you even now."

Yahshi suddenly trembled, her teeth biting into her bottom lip deeply. "…That's why you've given up…isn't it? I swear to you now, I have never stopped believing in you, Atemu! You know I'm forever by your side, for that's how our connection works. The connection that overpowers all powers and above, even darkness. I'm here for you just like you were always there for me…I give my word, my soul fights beside you in whatever war you battle…." She lowered her head once more, struggling to resist tears to pour. "… You can not lose this fight…" her voice trailed. "…As long as I feel you beside me, your arms around me, I feel safe even in darkness…" each word was choked down in trembles as tears continued to fall anyhow. "…Love conquerors all…"

Atemu's eyelid dropped again until finally they closed.

_**(Don't close your eyes**_

_**God knows what lies behind him**_

_**Don't turn**_

_**Out the lights**_

_**Never sleep**_

_**Never die)**_

Yahshi gasped, her heart sinking. "….DON'T GIVE UP ON ALL OF US NOW!! YOU CAN'T LOSE THE DUEL TO HER!!" Yahshi was giving away all of her energy but she had to encourage him further. "…For your own sake…win the duel… "

"_**Oh please!" **_ The witch had finally gotten sick of the love speeches that had no meaning. _**"Your little Sa-Ra is over his head and his will to go on! He's going to lose this duel and finally be gone forever! You'll die twice in your unneeded second lifetime, KING Atemu! Then the world is mine to punish for all the pain its brought me…" **_

Yahshi's fearful eyes turned to brutal anger. "HOLD YOUR TONGUE BETWEEN YOUR TEETH AND KNOW YOUR PLACE LOWER THAN DIRT, DEMONIC WITCH!!" she seemed threatening enough. "YOU SACK OF DEBRIS! For I swear on the Gods, you will be the one losing your soul to the King of Egypt for all eternity! Before my soul is taken by the shadows, I will look down upon your dead corpse and smile!" The eye of Ra glowed brilliantly on her forehead as her eyes glowed in deep hatred, her teeth gritted, and her own darkness overcoming her.

"_**Are you threatening me?" **_Maibe questioned in a following hiss.

"NO, I'M WARNING YOU! TOUCH A HAIR ON MY PHARAOH, AND I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A WHIPPED DOG!" her tone of voice was beyond any darkness in these realms.

Maibe gritted her teeth and snarled at the queen, hissing like an anger cat. _**"Disgraceful Thema…your Sa-Ra was better off the day I murdered you…"**_

"THE SUN WAS SHINING THE DAY YOUR DEAD BODY ROTTED AWAY INTO THE SANDS OF EGYPT!!" the queen from Millennia screamed back in anger.

"…Yahshi…!" Atemu whispered as he lifted himself up onto his knees. "…That's enough…."

Yahshi's power disappeared once she heard her Pharaoh's voice. "…Atemu…?" she flinched as she saw him struggle to stand. She blinked tears back as they formed in the corner of her eyes. "Pharaoh…you're alright…"

The Pharaoh wasn't in a great mood to talk. He was completely drained of all energy and he felt willing enough to die. All of the sudden, he fell back onto the ground in soaked sweat and bloodless bruises. "…Don't try to talk me into it again …I've lost this duel…I lost it the moment I entered it…" he whispered muffled against the grains of sands as he panted endlessly.

His loved one was devastated. "But…THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

_**(I'm frightened by what I see**_

_**But somehow I know that there's much more to come)**_

Atemu's eyes shut tightly as his eyebrows quivered while they stayed wrinkled down on his forehead, his nose wrinkled in great sensation of hurt. "…I've already failed you…you know I have…"

More tears of mixed painful feelings welled in Yahshi's eyes as she yanked herself forward. "THAT'S A LIE! IT'S ALL LIES! YOU'VE NEVER FAILED ME, ATEMU! YOU'VE _ALWAYS_ BEEN THERE FOR ME!! PLEASE, FORGIVE ME FOR DOUBTING YOU, FOR NOT BELIEVING IN YOU…BUT SHE'LL KILL YOU IF YOU FORFEIT!" she shut her eyes tightly, not really knowing what else to say. "…Atemu, I love you…from the moment we first met eyes, the moment I first heard your sweet voice, the moment I felt your heart beat against mine, I loved you…I'll love you for 10,000 years and more…you must be strong for me…for us all, YOU _CAN _STILL WIN!"

_**(Immobilized by my fear**_

_**And soon to be blinded by tears**_

_**I can stop the pain**_

_**If I will it all away)**_

His eyes became distant phantoms of sorrowful fragments of light. "…There's nothing I can do to save you from her, Yahshi…there's nothing that can save us."

"…That's only because you're belief is dead…but our connection isn't, remember? …It's what formed the bond between the two Millennium items. There is still one Ka that can save you, Pharaoh." She stared into his eyes for a long moment, the light in own her eyes trembling. "…Just remember what you're fighting for…"

Atemu opened his eyes wider in memory. "…I fight for you…"

Yahshi smiled with tear stains down her face. "…You fight for _**us**_…"

_**(Don't turn away**_

_**Don't give into the pain**_

_**Don't try to hide**_

_**Though death's screaming your name)**_

Maibe gasped lightly as she witnessed the Pharaoh manage him self up on quaking knees, though nevertheless he was standing. She hissed darkly as her red eye became narrower. _**"You should've stayed down…Deceiving King of Egypt! Corrupter of our once beautiful land!"**_ she growled. _**"Supposed Successor of Sa-Ra Akunumkanon, you are nothing more than a thieving rat…"**_

"…I don't care about your insults, Maibe…" Atemu panted out, his breathing never catching up. "…Let us finish this duel and end all hatred upon each other, _now_!"

"…_**It's your fate…" **_

_**(Upon my end shall I begin?**_

_**Forsaking all I've fallen for**_

_**I rise to meet the end)**_

"…KURIBOH! COME FORTH!" Atemu called for his monster.

A little brown furry creature with large purple eyes was tossed down from the sky, plummeting into the sand. It wiggled with its green feet upright out of the sand dome, suddenly pulling itself out of the grains. It shook out all the black sands from its fur violently, and suddenly saw Maibe. Automatically it puffed up as if angry.

"…_**How do you expect to win with such a monster? The weakest spirit of all the demons? No matter, I'll just destroy you both…ANICENT BENNU!!" **_

The gigantic bird soared. It soon came diving down on Kuriboh, the little creature being to panic.

As soon as the Bennu dove into the boundary of Kuriboh, tens of thousand others appeared from thin air. The creature managed to only grab hold of four between its talons and crushing them, but more continued to multiply.

"_**WHAT IS THIS?! ANOTHER TRICK?!"**_ Maibe yelled in frustration. _**"…No, that's alright…I have something up my sleeve."**_ She looked to her Bennu. _**"ANICENT BENNU, DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF KURIBOH WITH SHU'S WINDS!" **_

The large heron took flight once more, and now for the red pyramid between the swirling purplish black portal of the sky. Slowly the heron God circled the tip of the pyramid, suddenly gaining the dark winds of the portal to the current of its feathers. The heron hovered airborne in the sky over the Pharaoh and swung its head before beating the air with its massive wingspan. A sudden whirlwind was created through the attempt, and ruthlessly headed for the thousand Kuribohs. All the Kuribohs tried to escape the assault, but were thoroughly swept away into the darkness, all yelping in the tackle of the winds. One Kuriboh was left now. Fearfully, the Kuriboh panicked as Bennu approached it, closing in and then nastily taking its small body into its beak and swallowing it down in a single gulp.

Atemu held the fabric of his chest between his gripping fingers, letting out a choked yelp of agony before he squeezed in his shut in brutal sting.

_**(I' m frightened by what I see**_

_**But somehow I know that there's much more to come)**_

"_**And now, you're wide open for attack! SATANIC SERAPH!"**_

The devil of all infant demons giggled as it flew towards Atemu.

A strained smile instantly crept upon Atemu's sweaty face. "…A costly mistake you made once again…this just isn't your day."

Maibe flinched back, eyes wide.

"…Finally, let the light shed the darkness, SWORDS OF REVEALING LIGHT!!" Weakly, Atemu raised his hand to the dark sky above.

Blinding gold light in the outline of swords came soaring down on them, all landing in the sand around Maibe, some imprisoning the very air around her in airborne.

Maibe snarled at the Pharaoh, seeing as her infant demon banged on the invisible blockage with no use of it breaking.

Maibe's snarl turned into a quick smirk. _**"…Trying to stall fate, Sa-Ra? Well fate awaits no mortal…"**_ her violent eyes ran to her Bennu. _**"With the blessing of Osiris's might, my Heron of Osiris can instantly shatter the light blocking the dark. SONGS OF THE DEAD!" **_

Her Bennu stretched out its neck toward the sky, and opened its narrowed bill to release a loud series of shrills from its vocal throat. The chirps fell into a song, a dreadful song of Osiris. Its throat bellowed like a lump as the singsong shrieks echoed throughout the corrupted sands of Egypt. Atemu clamped his hands over his ears in agony as if any time sooner his eardrums would've bled. Yahshi herself could not clamp her own ears, but could only wince and screech at such loudness. As if not being able to take much more, the swords of revealing light quickly shattered into gold shards of glass, dissolving into the earth in black pieces. Abruptly the shrills of the gigantic beast came to an end.

The Pharaoh could only glare at his last hope broken down into shards of edgy black glass cuts. His eyes found Maibe smiling under the cloak hood, her lips spreading wider in soothing hums.

_**(Don't turn away**_

_**Don't give into the pain**_

_**Don't try to hide**_

_**Though they're screaming your name)**_

"_**Such beautiful music, don't you agree?"**_ she grinned to show her gritted teeth.

Atemu only narrowed his eyes in anger. "Stop toying, I summon Dark Magician and Mystical Elf to my defense power…" he lowly grumbled, two beams of light transferring into his ancient sunbird wing, and soon appearing before him.

Maibe stared at them before laughing aloud. "You know those monsters have no chance against the representative of Osiris, don't you?"

"I'm very well aware, Maibe, but I have no intention for tackling your beast." Atemu's glare seemed to deepen, and as Maibe searched his eyes, she could see the ghostly fragment of radiance salsa within their orbs.

Maibe's teeth gritted. _He knows something, but whatever his tricks are they can't be played, not in this desperate of a time. Then again, I should never underestimate the power of the last line of Kings…_

"Are you going to keep me waiting for another five thousand years?" his deep voice of solemn attitude penetrated her confusion of thoughts.

"_**I never thought one would be eager to die, Sa-Ra."**_ She scowled. _**"So whatever tricks you have awaiting me beneath the sand, will be faulted. I will destroy your demons!!"**_ she suddenly raised her lips in a catlike hiss, her growl becoming something of distant words as if in a chant.

Maibe's bony fingers rose to the sky slowly, her snake-like chant becoming louder as if prayer in a different language to the Gods.

With every hiss of word rolling off her demonic tongue, the thunder and lighten flashing between the sky shocked the ground around Bennu almost to captivate it. Bennu shrieked and flocked, feeling the souls of Maibe's dead Kas' spirits imprison its body.

_**(Don't close your eyes**_

_**God knows what lies behind them**_

_**Don't turn out the lights**_

_**Never sleep**_

_**Never die)**_

Her hisses turned into a screech to finish her ritual. Maibe looked back down to Atemu, red eyes widening, tongue flicking. _**"LORD ZORK, GOD OF THE DARK DECEIT OF THE MILLENNIUM ARTIFACTS, COME TO ME MY MASTER, DO WHAT SHOULD'VE BEEN SETTLED FIVE THOUSAND YEARS AGO!!" **_

Both Yahshi and Atemu watched in horror as a transparent soul of blackness slowly departed from the eye of his Millennium Puzzle, floating toward the palm of Maibe. She grasped the ball of the soul greedily in her hands, glaring at Bennu. _**"Take this loyal sacrifice of mine and become your incarnation."**_

But Bennu disapproved. In fear it suddenly took flight and flocked away from Maibe.

The dark stream headed toward Bennu and suddenly bored its spirit into the heart of the creature, blackness encircling the Heron and reducing it into the core of the gradually spinning tornado of darkness.

Every located artifact of the seven Millennium items scattered around the world responded to this attempt. Invisibly the items lined up and took their places in the stone tablet, each glowing brightly under Maibe's ritual. The song sang by worshippers rose from the background as if singing for an Egyptian God as the Bennu cried out from the shadows in agony.

_**(Fallen angels at my feet**_

_**Whispered voices at my ear**_

_**Death before my eyes**_

_**Lying next to me, I fear)**_

Maibe stood slouched over with her arms dangling and shoulders rising rhythmically with deep chuckles escaping her vibrating throat. She slowly raised her head, a bright impure red light blinding the darkness from her eye. "_**Your name was always the key to sealing and reincarnating Lord Zork, my Sa-Ra. It was how you supposedly 'saved' Egypt. But this isn't 5,000 years ago anymore, and we have found ways to bring him back and seal him whenever we want to. But at a price, for the ritual is not complete…"**_ She held her bony fingers to her heart. _**"…O' Great lord Zork, God of darkness, birth from seven millennium items and 99 lives to create them, take this loyal life of mine, and complete the story of the Egyptian tale…Lord of Darkness warred against the Lord of Egypt…revive your strength with the honor of my soul…"**_

From the depths of the darkness, **"…Your wish has been granted…"**

Streams of darkness surrounded Maibe's feet and rose from the black sands to grant her wish. She hollered in the distant agony as she fell promptly on her knees holding her head while darkness ate her flesh away. The shadows devoured her and left the black cloak behind in the dry sands.

Red blazing eyes peered through the foggy darkness and down on Pharaoh Atemu and his Queen Yahshi.

Both cringed in the sight of its presence before them both, towering over them.

_**(She beckons me**_

_**Shall I give in?)**_

Yahshi gritted her teeth as her pupils shot to a wide and dilated degree before turning her face away with tears of fear dampening her squeezed down eyelashes. She knew this Lord all too well…it was the most prized bed time horror story often told to little children 5,000 years ago.

_**(I'm frightened by what I see**_

_**But somehow I know**_

_**There's much more to come**_

_**Immobilized**_

_**By my fear**_

_**And soon to be **_

_**Blinded by tears)**_

Finally, the creature birthed from 99 murdered lives under the spell book of Pharaoh Akunumkanon's brother was revealed. Its head carried the long curving bull horns, a pair of devil horns on the very top, while its mouth held a thousand fangs gritted into each other with the glare it obtained on its monstrous black face. A red ruby gem bored within its forehead as it opened its mouth to let out an enraged roar. The body of Atemu's oldest enemy was in shape of a human male of a million buffed muscles. The fingers were pointed with sharpened claws as it held out their dreadfulness. Its spiked tail rose before the Pharaoh, the head of a snake or dragon, rising from beneath the beast and hissing frantically at the King of Egypt, swaying to and fro. Large wings towered over its own body before it hunched over to see the Pharaoh vividly as radical winds of sand blew in the chilly air.

The Pharaoh could only gaze at it, eyes widened as he took a step back, the winds tangling in knots with his hair in strong whips of the current. "…Zork…" he could barely breathe the name, for he had choked on it the first.

_**(Upon my end **_

_**Shall I begin?)**_

A profound growl or rumble from the beast shook Egypt. **"…As long as the Millennium items remain, I shall always live…" **It breathes in a hideously dark voice of heated hatred. **"…From the light comes the dark…"** Lord Zork say within slow speech as it took the time to draw in breath from deep whispers. "…**Let us finish the immortal war, Son of RA…"** red blazing eyes shot open even wider as the beast lunged out for the last son and daughter of Egypt.

_**(Forsaking all I've fallen for**_

_**I rise to meet the end)**_


	14. The Great Bloodied River of the Nile

A Millennium's Elapsed Love

_**The Great Bloody River of the Nile**_

_Disclaimer: WOO! Been gone FOR-EVAAAAR! Sorry, peeps! I doubt anyone is still gonna review this, but this is the next addition to the re-written battle of Maibe and Yami Atemu, Zorc included. I'm gonna be sticking to re-editting this, so keep an eye out! I'll try to make the next chapter done really soon!! _

Bustling billows of black clouds veiled the shadow field as the fanged appendage of Zorc snapped to and fro at the Pharaoh. Electrical waves thundered in Atemu's path, nearly destroying his monsters he had once planned to sacrifice.

The divinity of darkness…

The conqueror of evil…

**Gluttony.**

**Greed.**

**Envy.**

**Lust.**

**Sloth.**

**Wrath.**

**Pride.**

All morphed into a monster of the seven deadly sins.

"H-Ho, my…R-Ra…" Yahshi died a little in the presence of such mutated immorality.

The reverberating, demonic laughter of Zorc nearly caused their ears to bleed. **"After all these years, how is it that you still remember my name but not your own, **_**Son of Ra?"**_

Yami clenched his teeth and took a step heavy back, sweat dribbling through his pores. Gravity didn't feel the same. His heart felt pressured and weary.

He…

Was scared.

Never had he felt such a terrorizing coldness deep within his loins.

'_What am I supposed to DO? This is no DUEL monster! He's the creation of darkness…' _he stared at his deck.His blurred eyes looked over to Yahshi who had her sights stuck and stressed on the vile Zorc. Yami narrowed his eyes, straining for the light in these shadows. _'But I have to win this…to save her from getting slaughtered in Maibe's choice of torture and rescue my friends…'_

_(Song, "Jillian: I'd Give My Heart by Within Temptation") _

_**I've been dreaming for so long**_

_**To find the meaning**_

_**To understand**_

_**The secret**_

_**Of life...**_

_**Why am I here...**_

_**To try again?**_

"_**Welcome to the playing field, Master Zorc…" **_Maibe's full and uncloaked body of a dark complexion and black hair, suddenly reappeared clutched between Zorc's palm as he drank the remaining life of her soul ever so slowly. _**"Your puppet, at your service."**_

_(Darkness---------------------------)_

"ISOLDE!!" Yugi called as he was bordered in an open area of murky fluids up to his knees. "WHERE ARE YOU?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" he was right back where he started…

"…_Unless I let go of her,"_

Yugi paused and listened.

"…_She won't stop bringing them back…"_

"IZZY!" He ran to the direction of the empty voice, splashing and falling in through the muck of her mind.

At last!

There!

A sign straight ahead!

Yugi stumbled toward the rusted dagger buried into the core of the muck, noticing the slit that emitted a blaze of yellow illumination. Yugi brushed it with his fingertips dearly, and was soon swallowed by the dark depths.

It felt like he was falling for millennia of time, until he hit the abnormally soft floor.

Yugi cringed with ache banging the corners of his head, squinting up at the gash from the ceiling he collapsed through. "How may times am I gonna keep falling…?"

"…Where's Isolde…?" Yugi's desperate irises darted uphill as he saw who he was looking for, isolated afar.

An elevated mountain shaped from the blackened vines of thorns dimmed his hope once he rested his eyes upon it. On the very peak was the Majesty of this mind empire. But in front of this mountain of curses was a substantial landscape of thorns and vines readying to grab anything that dared trespass the Queen of depression's lair.

Yugi took a few steps closer and gazed at her unconscious body floating in dark tense air. He felt his throat become sore, and his air passages tighten.

She levitated airborne, her full eyelashes to her paled cheeks with her mane wavering. Her arms embraced the clinging seven year old to her body, shackles binding them as both seemed unconscious. Both their bodies were delimited in a gold aura.

"Izzy…" Yugi's large lavender orbs quivered in moist lights. He then gripped hold of his sanity and balled his fist. "ISOLDE! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP AND LET GO OF THE PAST! ONLY YOU CAN DO THIS! THIS IS _**YOUR **_WORLD!"

Her whitish blonde hair follicle glided serenely amongst the air like the rest of her paralyzed body. Though this place was more dreadful than serene.

"…N-No, she needs someone to help her…she can't do this ALONE…" Yugi began to press onward on foot. "HOLD ON, ISOLDE! I'LL SAVE YOU FROM…" he paused. "….yourself…"

___**Will I always, Will you always**_

_**See the truth when it stares you in the**_

_**Face...?**_

**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW**

I ran forward to try and reach Isolde before anymore damage was done to her. She was sinking into her despair like a moth entranced by a light bulb!

Once I stepped on the mountain periphery, an immediate HUGE thorn sprouted from the ground like nails that could have went through my BODY.

My eyes looked back up to her. The darkness was trying to keep me from rescuing her. But I wasn't about to give in!

"I'm coming for you, Izzy! MEANWHILE, HOLD ONTO YOUR SANITY AND STAY STRONG!!" I ran as fast as I could up that death mountain.

Thousands of those oversized thorns shot up from my path, trying to strike me down. I continued to ignore the tall thorns but one struck high, ripping through my shirt and striking me right up in the chin. I straight away felt the impact from the prickly path I fell on. My arms struggled to lift my traumatized body off the ground before the muck could sink me in like quick sand.

It wasn't easy to breathe in this place…I felt like there was a whale pressing against my chest and blocking oxygen….

My eyes were getting heavy and my strength was draining….but I had to save her…I can't let an innocent soul die in the hands of her past…that's just….

"NOT AN OPTION!" I rose painfully.

My feet continued to run at speed up the path, dodging all death traps. "Almost there! C'MON!"

Right when I was about to near her, I saw the seven year old Isolde's eyes fly open, her orbs a catlike pupil. She gazed deeply and viciously into my soul, and then rested her head on her older self's chest as she smiled, her eyes suddenly turning normal. _**"…Leave us…we don't need you too."**_ She closed her eyes in peace.

I shook my head. "Let her go! She doesn't need you anymore! She's not a CHILD!"

She clung to her even more. "But I am her and I need me more than I need you."

_**Will ever, Will I never**_

_**Free myself**_

_**By breaking**_

_**These chains?**_

"You're what's holding her back!! You're the past, and she CAN'T keep living in it!"

"You don't understand," she yanked the chains that bonded them, sliding her hand down her heart as she pretended like she was resting. "Izzy and I do not know how to love…the darkness told us so. We can not be departed; the shadow monsters told us so. The shadows are the only ones who love us…"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!!" I squeezed my eyes shut. "I'm gonna save you from your pain! I promise I will!" I was almost inches from getting her.

Suddenly, the milieu of vines came to life. The barbed black vines enveloped her entire body and pulled her into their layer.

"NO!!"

The choking vines squeezed around her like a great anaconda. I heard her yap of pain and even saw some tears empty from her eyes.

"LET HER _GO_!" The vines from behind tackled me around my throat, shoulders, knees and arms. But I wasn't about to give up, so I KEPT striving to reach Isolde, no matter how hard the task was. "ISOLDE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!!"

I saw one vine drape around her frail neck tightly, and more bind her waist and legs even tighter. More tears fell from her eyes as she couldn't do anything yet her body still glowed with a dimming light.

Tears welled in my own eyes as I watched this. "IZZY!" my heart was crushed…If something bad happened to Isolde…I'd DIE!

___**Give my heart**_

_**Give my soul**_

_**I'd turn it back**_

_**It's my fault**_

_**Your destiny is forlorn**_

_**Have to live till its undone**_

_(Shadow Realms--------------------------)_

"**Your service of soul sacrifice is not ENOUGH. Bring me to my full supremacy, Maibe." **Zorc's burning eyes slanted impatiently. **"BRING IT TO ME **_**NOW!!"**_

"_**A-As you wish!" **_Maibe shakily staggered back onto her weak feet once he set her fading body onto the playing field. She tiresomely drew her card, almost toppling over. _**"M…M-My poor… poor Sa-Ra…THIS…is where your reign e-ends… and a NEW d-dawn of darkness begins…All…h-hail…King…Zorc of…the shadows."**_

The demised Pharaoh's Thema felt the urge to shed light on him. But her throat was parched, and her voice was lost, for the images of him being cast away from this earth had captured her consciousness. Only her silent tears could swagger down her dirtied cheeks and into the corners of her widely opened mouth. Breathing barely came to her…for she skipped two heart beats every other minute. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to live.

_**I've been living for so long**_

_**Many seasons**_

_**Have passed me by**___

"_**I transfer the great force of the Cardinal Sins to Zorc!" **_Maibe stretched her hands to the heavens, where the devils of Zorc now lived as her eyelids fell heavily. A purple orb of energy rocketed from her fingers and into the clouds. _**"Luxuria (Lust), Gula (Gluttony), Avaritia (Greed), Acedia (Sloth), Ira (Wrath), Invidia (Envy), and Superbia (pride)! Give the strength of all humanity's darkness to my Lord! FEED YOURSELF TO THE O' MIGHTY!" **_

Zorc filched the ghouls of the shadow sins between his talons and devoured the screeching demons hungrily. Blood seeped off his clawed paws and curved fangs before he swiped his serpent tongue along his bloodied lips. His muscles rapidly inflated veined biceps as the tissues tensed and contracted, nearly exploding out of his scaly skin.

In that gruesome moment, Yahshi and Yami Atemu witnessed the horrific scene of Zorc thoroughly biting off Maibe's head, blood splattering over both their faces.

"**It's finally time, Son of Ra. You will no longer be between me and my CONQUEST!"**

Atemu didn't even lift his sleeve to wipe the blotches of deep red off his cheeks. He only growled in utmost hopelessness, eyes wide as saucers, stepping backwards in desperation. "Ho no…I'm defenseless…" (A/N: With his deep ass voice he always says 'Ho no' instead of 'Oh no', hehe)

The Red Pyramid ultimately crumbled and fell apart into its demise as it crashed to into the blackened grains, erupting tidal waves of sand.

_**I**__**'ve seen kingdoms**_

_**Through ages**_

_**Rise and fall**_

_**I've seen**_

_**It all**_/

The snaked head of Zorc's appendage slithered around the Dark Magician and Mystical Elf, evading them and lashing out directly for the Pharaoh.

"ATEMU, RUN AWAY! YOU MUST SAVE YOURSELF!" Yahshi jerked forth, her wrists bleeding in strains of agony. But she cared not...

"AH!" Atemu blocked his face with his arms in a pitiful instinct.

However…

He was still standing.

The Pharaoh peered his eye open, and then the other.

He then wheezed out a breath and stared disbelievingly before him. "My Dark Magician!"

Loyal, faithful and always trustworthy, was his treasured Dark Magician warding off the serpent's attack with his staff held between his massive jaws. He grunted and groaned, struggling to triumph the snake. Zorc's eyelids narrowed. The serpent soon bore down on the Pharaoh's favorite duel monster, and engulfed him whole.

"N-No—ARGH!" Atemu clutched his pulsating heart, gasping for a feather of oxygen. Sweat leaked off his nose, chin and brow, and his eyes were bulging from their sockets. He collapsed onto one hand of twitching fingers, suffocating.

"**No more of these INTERRUPTIONS, Pharaoh. Now surrender to the darkness and grab hold of your FATE," **Zorc summoned a grand fireball of depraved power in his gargoyle palms, eyes flaring gluttonously.

"…" Atemu dazedly elevated his eyes to his downfall, his body trembling insanely as he felt life deplete him totally. One more stream to leave his body meant eternal death…and the time of dying was almost complete.

_**I've seen the horror**_

_**I've seen the wonders**_/

"M-My…M-My Sa-Ra…" Crystallite tears oozed off Yahshi's lengthy eyelashes. "My love…" she rasped hoarsely, squeezing the soggy wretchedness from her vision. "P-Please…stand to your feet like the K-King of Egypt…show him…_true_ p-power…"

Her inspiration, her purpose, her glory, her freedom, her love…he was here before her in a lost state of mind. He knew not what to do. He had no options left. He was defenseless in the face of Zorc. He was weak and powerless…and knowing neither Yugi nor herself could bring him salvation in this time of need…

Zorc hurled the firestorm like a curveball, obliterating his Mystical Elf, and nearing him.

…A free tear wormed its way down Yami Atemu's bloodstained cheek.

_**Happening just in front of my**_

_**Eyes...**_

_**Will I ever, will I never**_

_**Free myself**_

_**By making it right...?**_

"Atemu…will always be mine, and not yours, Zorc…" Yahshi's head dropped limp as she drove her teeth into her lower lip, forcing blood and tears to arrive. "N-Not…_**YOURS!!**_" A impulsive unleash of immense power left Yahshi's body, her transparent soul levitating above her empty shell and morphing into something greater…

"**What's HAPPENING?! Why are you still STANDING?!" **Zorc's orbs jutted.

_**Give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

_**I'd turn it back**_

_**It's my fault**_

_**Your destiny is forlorn**_

_**Have to live till its undon**__**e**_

The energy spirit of_ Nephthys,_ Goddess of Femi and the soul of Yahshi stood gallantly before the blast, sheltering their Pharaoh from the dark powers of the combustion.

Atemu could barely make out the two translucent figures in front of his dying eyes. He squinted, and then parted his lips in recognition. "…O-O…morose…" He whispered like a pained prayer, his eyebrows creasing back on his forehead.

_**Jillian...**_

_**Our dream ended**_

_**Long ago**_

"_Hm…"_ Yahshi's spirit smiled pleasantly back at him over her shoulder._ "I told you, I'd always protect you, my King…I am your slave forever. For you have enslaved my heart…forever."_

Atemu gazed under eased and tired eyes, lips closing a tad. "…Yahshi…"

The attack exploded in front of Nephthys and Thema Yahshi, the Pharaoh also being shielded from this.

…Zorc laughed. **"Spirit of Thema Yahshi…Nepthys of Femi. Your devotion and love for your King is nothing but worthlessness!!" **

Yahshi held her Pharaoh upright; glaring into Zorc's blackened face. _"…My King…"_ she spoke distantly. _"Tell me…what can defeat the creation of darkness?"_

_**All our stories**_

_**and all our glories**_

_**I held so dear...**_

Atemu's nose wrinkled for a moment, before his eyes bolted right open. "The creation of LIGHT!" All of the sudden, Yahshi's spirit snatched his face and creased his mouth over hers.

A tearline dribbled down her cheek...

She was predicting she'd never make it through this last attempt to save her Pharaoh of Beauty. 

Little by little, she drew back, her tongue filching out an orb of gold light from the depths of his mouth.

_**We won't be together**_

_**forever and ever**_

_**No more tears...**_

"_Love, happiness, friendship, harmony, ambition, devotion, morality …they all feed into the creation of light…the seven pure virtues." _

Atemu blinked softly, cocking his head at her aura of pure sadness. 

"And together, we have them all…" tears came fast as Yahshi turned to her Goddess of Femi, before opening her palms and presenting the orb of Yami Atemu's pure virtues. The Ka took it with gratitude, and then took Yahshi into her as well. The two collided and became one, but not without Yahshi's sorrowful eyes gazing back into her Pharaoh's.

_**I'll always be here..**___

Atemu watched in awe as the overpowering light countered with Zorc's tornado of flames. The radiance from the blinding Goddess of Femi and Yahshi shot up skywards, contouring into another form. The black skies diminished in fright as the spiraling winds destroyed the remaining deadened homes and temples of Demised Egypt. Atemu shielded his face and grunted through the tornado's fury. He could hear the choir theme of the Gods chorusing what was about to come.

_**Till...**_

_**The...**_

_**End...**___

A glowing stem evaporated from the light, its bud leisurely unfolding to expose a golden sunbird flower. The curvature petals soon coiled upwards until it shaped wings, the stem altering into the silhouette of a woman's body. Golden wings, wings of a human Sunbird, touched the winds of blackness, reflecting Zorc's fearful stare off them.

"_With the dark comes the light…" _Yahshi announced in mockery through mental effect, opening her soulfully honeyed eyes in the Egyptian Godly paraphernalia of the Creation of Light, pure of heart creature.

_**Give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

_**I'd turn it back**_

_**It's my fault**_

"She merged together with Nephthys and the seven pure virtues, and her Ka is the Creation of Light!" Atemu's eyes stung against the fiercely twirling winds that whipped at his bangs.

Ruthlessly, Yahshi's illuminating hand seized Zorc's throat the instant he made an attempt to escape.

"_Stare into my eyes…and feel the agony of all the innocent people you manipulated. You're the reason of war and the seven sins, Zorc. You're the Darkness that keeps Earth from its dreams…"_

_**Your destiny is FORLORN**_

_**Have to live till its UNDONE**_

"_**It'll NEVER end this way, THEMA of Ra!!"**_ Zorc laughed hysterically between her merciless clench. _**"As long as humanity remains, I CAN NOT BE CONQUERED!" **_

Yahshi withdrew from Zorc, before thrusting the blue core of the earth's light into Zorc's throat.

_**I'd give my HEART**_

_**Give my SOUL**_

The ghastly creature of the seven sins gagged and choked, talons cleaving through his very throat, but the dancing lights had already perforated through, and he exploded into the oblivion of light.

Particles of crystal fell from the sky, radiating off the black sand. 

…And that was it.

It was all over.

Yahshi's soul decreased into a shrinking luminosity before transferring back into her own bloodied body.

_**I'd turn it back**_

_**And then at last**_

_**I'll be**_

_**On my **_

_**Way...**_/

_(End of Song)_

The air was still hot and tense as the dark realms of the shadows did not disappear.

The nails bored into the flesh of Yahshi's wrists quickly unscrewed themselves, and floored the ground in clanks. The black chains around her ankles quickly unclamped around her, and set her liberation. Immediately she ran for her beloved King, crawling to him. "My Sa-Ra!" she wheezed.

Atemu's neck craned back as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, knees gradually bending was on the process of collapsing.

"Oh Beautiful Sa-Ra!" Yahshi caught him before he crumpled to the floor, just gently setting him alongside her on the ground. She kissed his hands honorably, nuzzling his scarred knuckles. "H-Ho my King…" she breathed, gulping down the sting in her throat. "Open your eyes…"

Atemu grunted in his struggle, and yet somehow found his strength to lift his heavy eyes upon her. He blinked, seeing nothing but a bright light dwell over him, before coming to reality and seeing Yahshi there. "…You're amazing…"

She smiled, tears clouding her sight.

"Your Ka, Goddess of Femi, was the Creation of Light…?"

"No, my Lord, Goddess of Femi is my mother…locked inside her favorite Ka. Goddess of Femi is only one of the virtues needed to bring Creation of Light to the open. And we are the others…" Yahshi smiled gently in sadness as her finger stroked down his face. She smothered him in short kisses before he spoke again, too relieved to see and feel him. "Oh Pharaoh…" she moaned thankfully.

He saw tears rapidly flow down her face in rivers. "Why…are you crying…? Everything's safe now."

She looked up into his eyes jadedly, wiping the blood from his cheeks. "…I hated watching you in such pain …" a last tear fell as she continued to smile. "…I felt like I was dying along with you…"

Atemu smiled weakly at her, eyebrows furrowed back in empathy for her pain.

"…I was so afraid I was going to lose you for all time again. I thought I'd never get to see your gentle face once more." Automatically with all the weeping built up in her heart, she buried her face into his warm chest once he got the strength to sit up, silently letting out gentle and stifled sobs while pounding it. "S-Stupid, Stupid Pharaoh! Don't ever do something like that again for me…don't you EVER do something like that again for me!" she whispered against him angrily.

Atemu softened the muscles of his rough face and hesitantly wrapped an arm around her, a hand caressed against her head. "Shhh, I'm here now…you don't need to cry…" He said in a chuckling kind of way. He leaned over her like a guardian angel embracing their sanctuary. "…I'm not going anywhere…and I never will ever again."

Atemu could see shades of sadness in the light of her eyes. He didn't want her to feel this way anymore. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled Yahshi to him, his hands threaded in her strands of bronzed follicle.

A grumble of disturbance reached echoes in the background.

Atemu's attention was quickly drawn to their surroundings that hadn't changed. "I don't understand it…why are we still in the shadows? If Maibe and Zorc are defeated then why are we still in the Shadow Realms?"

Yahshi's eyes followed his. "…Because Yugi and Isolde are still in here somewhere…we need to find them!"

Atemu stood up daringly and ignored his ache, helping Yahshi up.

The Pharaoh gazed into the darkness around them. "I'm not sure we can find them so easily…if Yugi's trapped inside Isolde's mind, then we've got to find a way to get him out." His eyes turned curious with raised eyebrows as he looked down at Yahshi beside him. "…Are you sure you can manage your way? You look pretty beaten..."

"I'm fine…" Yahshi whispered.

She felt his presence leave as he began to walk into the direction of the shadows.

"A-Atemu, wait!" Yahshi called.

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "…Hm?"

Her eyes fell low before closing them, her eyebrows quivering along with her lips as if resisting more tears. "…Thank you…" she sighed lightly.

Atemu blinked twice at her.

Yahshi yanked her head up when she heard his profound chuckle, her cheeks reddened. She shyed away when she saw him there before her, his wise smile of composure broadcasted on his face. Instinctively her hand rose to her heart, as if mentally calming it.

"Anything for you, Omorose…."

Yahshi blinked twice, her heated breath escaping in an, "awe" as he gazed at her, once again the light jazzing against his strapping violet irises in emotion. "…Wha…" she softly gulped to swallow down her daze. "…Why are you staring at me like that…?" the lights in her own orbs trembled.

Atemu's hand felt her cheek, Yahshi flinching as her fingers clutched her heart more. "…Wounded or beat," he murmured. "In any bad or good condition, you're nevertheless beautiful…"

_Ra, why is he so romantic…?_ Yahshi released her imprisoned exhale.

Atemu's eyes lit up before chuckling once more.

Yahshi then gasped, "You're teasing me!"

He quickly moved back from her, walking ahead through light laughter. "Out of curiosity! You really ARE easily wooed."


	15. Has No One Told You She's Not Breathing

_**Has No One Told You She's Not Breathing**_

_We are picking up where we left off with Yugi and Isolde (Yes I renamed her agaaaain, lol). Thanks very much for the latest reviews on the last updated chapter! I'm happy people responded so quickly! And haha, I love you DAC, whether you're giving me a harsh critique or a detailed review, it always perks an understanding smile on my face. I like people honest to the heart (wink). _

That hugging feeling of failure tethered in his heart as the woe of depression tangled him up inside and literally out.

The childhood version of Isolde sat spiritually at the Isolde's favorite piano in the distance, fingers pressing on the bloody and melancholy keys to mock the mood of Yugi. She rotated her scarred face to him, smiling sweetly. Isolde's father stood behind the little girl, hand gripping her shoulder. All the children from her elementary that once abused and manipulated her stood and slumped around the piano, beaming 'appreciatively' at the little Isolde's depressing melodies and Yugi's struggle.

She began to sing,

"_Plaaaay ground_

_Schoool_

_Beeell_

_Rings_

_Again…"_

The landscape was steeped over in the rainfall of blood, red storm clouds overcastting.

"_Raaain clooouds_

_Cooome_

_Tooo_

_Play…_

_Again…"_

Yugi was interwoven into the swarm of clinging vines and sinking into their tugging depths fast. He thrashed, tore, bit and screamed for mercy over and over again, for he had to save Isolde. He wasn't doing this for him, it was for her. All for her. So why shouldn't they allow him through for the right reason?

"…_**PLEASE**_ LET _GO_!!" he beseeched as the vines made an attempt to wrap around his mouth.

The barbed plants of darkness kept hold of Isolde in their massive pile, trying to seal her into a permanent cocoon process, one that she would never emerge from. These ruthless vines kept tightening…and kept choking her. Blood had even trickled off the tips of her toes.

"…_Yugi…" _Isolde softly whimpered.

"_Has_

_No one told you_

_She's not_

_Breeeeath-ing…"_

He heard her voice, her throbbing voice full of affliction…

Yugi couldn't take it.

So...

He snapped.

With a savage willpower little Yugi ripped through the vines with his teeth in a grunt and broke loose. He ran like mad to escape their infuriated wrath, and when he managed to touch Isolde's boundaries, he struggled to shred the vines. Alas, these were no ordinary roots; they constricted and tautened the more he destroyed. Sweat droplets dribbled off his cheek and his body felt weak, but he hasn't about to give all his efforts up.

The childhood Isolde only giggled and tittered, eyes widening in entertainment at them both,

"_Hello,_

_I'm your miiiind_

_Giv-ing you someone_

_To talk tooo_

_Hellooo…" _

The same vines that had strapped around Isolde lunged for Yugi, furiously trying to suffocate them both together in the thronging accumulation. Isolde choked out a pained gag, while Yugi managed to strangle his hollers to stay in his throat. He caressed her vine-infested body to his chest, whispering into her ear, "I-Izzy…I'm right HERE. You have to let g-go of your fears and past, now! Th-This is your m-mind, you can stop all this! You can bring the light from the dark! I'm h-here for you now…so PLEASE!"

…Isolde's tears dripped off the ridges of her eyelashes as she smiled hopelessly. _"It's just a nightmare…"_

"_If I_

_Smiiile_

_Annnd_

_Don't…_

_Belieeeve_

_Sooon_

_I know_

_I'll wake_

_From _

_This dreaaam" _

_**Shadow Realms------------**_

"…We'll never find a way to reach them at this rate…" Yahshi groaned.

The road of the shadows was a pitch darkness of endlessness that carried them to nowhere in particular.

"Don't be so discouraged." Atemu urged as he walked courageously ahead, daring eyes forever staying in front of him. "We'll find them here."

She slanted her sarcastic eyes at him. "And how can YOU be so sure, Sa-Ra?"

"When has there ever been a time I've let you down?"

Yahshi frowned now.

"…Don't answer that."

That struck a powerful silence between them.

Atemu couldn't even look at her. He felt too ashamed to. Yahshi only found her feet.

"…Either way, I hope you're right…" she whispered soundlessly.

"Your flower's still there." Atemu tried to change their subject.

She peeked up at him, flinching. "What?"

"The white rose that I gave you earlier on," Yami Atemu cleared his throat. "…On our _date_…"

Yahshi's hand passed through the strands of her bronzed tresses before touching the delicate petals of her white rose. She hummed out a chuckle before setting her eyelashes on her rosy cheeks, speaking from her heart, "...The white rose symbolizes love for eternity and love that'll last that is stronger than death itself." her fingers embraced over her silver pendant as she whispered, "It means undying, sacred love…"

Atemu's eyelids eased as he gave a tiny smile to her sensitive soul. "…It symbolizes a Pharaoh and his Queen."

She turned to him, blinking after forgetting all about their faults and broken promises from their past life. She murmured in love, "…Exactly…"

But to disrupt the moment, the radiating light from the two Millennium items drove their alerted eyes to the empty scenery in front of them. Yet they saw nothing but black.

The Eye of Horus gleamed off Atemu's forehead. "You feel that?"

Then all of the sudden, a section of the darkness slithered...

Yahshi stepped ahead. "Atemu, something's lurking around us." She stayed calm and patient. The glide of darkness brushed against her leg. "AHHH!" she screamed like a lunatic before hiding behind Yugi's Yami. "WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT JUST TOUCHED ME??!!"

The Pharaoh stood in front of her, watching the motion that clandestinely rustled by like a secreted shark in the depths of the ocean, confusing its prey.

"…M-My King, is it—"

"I fear it is." Atemu's eyes narrowed dramatically. "Zorc."

"No…"

"No?" Atemu blinked.

"Maibe. I-Isolde's unconscious mind still prevails in the darkness, Pharaoh."

"The souls of both our friends…." Yami Atemu looked down with his eyes still searching for exposed answers. _'Is it possible Isolde has some type of connection with Maibe?' _

Yahshi watched his face become frustrated. "My King, Isolde is the reason why Maibe lives. She reincarnated her from the depths of her own sadness, and Maibe has been following Isolde for years, torturing us anonymously. It wasn't till we found you she showed her face. And if Isolde's mind is still in the shadow realms, then Maibe is NOT going to die. She's what's left behind of Zorc. Wh-Which means…there's NO time. We have to find Yugi and Isolde before Maibe corrupts them even MORE!"

Yahshi sped off, not waiting for Atemu.

"YAHSHI, WAIT! HOLD ON!" Atemu stretched out his fingers.

A crimson pair of eyes bolted wide open in the cloak of darkness. It reacted quickly to Yahshi's quick movement. Rushing to her, it took binding over her ankles to keep her still.

"_**Don't you bother helping your friends." **_ Such a familiar accent…

The thin outlining of the dark motion morphed its form into a woman flaring in dark flames that Atemu and Yahshi recognized.

The figure narrowed her eyes. _**"I am the shadows, Atemu. How can you send me to a place where I was given rebirth and think it would destroy me when I am part of destruction, sorrow, pain, hatred and darkness? None of that can be permanently destroyed, so neither can I…NOR Master ZORC." **_

Yahshi glowered at the witch with impurity. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?"

"_**Because I'm feeling generous right about now, I'll give you a warning to inform you. If you continue to walk through my boundaries in search of long lost souls, the darkness will devour you without tolerance. The longer you stay the longer you'll suffer. Turn back, say the words, surrender to it and it will spare you and let you free from here." **_

Yahshi gripped Atemu's shirt while standing alongside him. "…We won't go anywhere without our friends so just leave us be and disappear FOREVER!"

The sorceress shook her head in a smirk. _**"Foolish mortal, you won't be saving anyone if you continue." **_Her pupils elapsed into an eclipse shape of a serpent as she hissed, _**"YOU'LL DIE." **_

Yami Atemu brought his queen closer into him, eying the witch so he could know when to safeguard Yahshi from whatever perspective.

"_**You'll never rescue them! They have to rescue themselves!!!" **_ Maibe charged them directly.

Atemu shoved Yahshi to the flooring of the shadow realms in hopes of ducking Maibe's soul beam, or to at least shield his Yahshi.

The she-devil battered right into his back before her impure soul dispersed against his shoulder blades in threads of darkness. He yowled in the immense anguish as it drilled harder into his back the whole while through.

Yahshi felt traumatized to watch the muscles of his face contract and tense, his teeth grit and grind. She ignored the sweat leaking off the skin of his face and onto her own.

Ultimately, the beam diminished. The Pharaoh opened is eyes slightly, with one of more tiresomely half-open than the other.

"A-A-Are….you alright?" He choked.

Yahshi nodded shakily before lifting up and supporting him with her arms. She rubbed his back when she sat him down beside her. "Breathe, Pharaoh…sit here and revive yourself."

He shook his head impatiently. "…No, we don't have TIME. We have to keep searching. " he stood wobbily, practically toppling over his unbalanced feet.

Yahshi stayed with her knees glued to the black sand. "…Please stop this."

Yami stared at her from the corner of his eye again. "Stop what?"

Yahshi's eyes shimmered boldly. "Stop throwing yourself in harm's way for me. Stop throwing yourself in front of me. I could've evaded that attack this time, I swear. I feel so weak and hopeless when I can't defend myself. I'm in the way of you."

"It has nothing…to DO w-with that. I want you s….safe, and this i-is what I'm…willing to go through." Atemu grunted out.

"No," she tenderly confirmed with a shake of the head. "It is time I paid the debt."

Yami gave her a confounded stare. "You don't owe me _anything_."

She shook her head again. "I owe you everything…"

"Come now, Yahshi. Stop talking in riddles so we can find Yugi and Isolde." Atemu was almost becoming impatient with her. "There is no debt that needs to be paid."

"..B-But—"

"Will you do me a favor, then?"

"Anything…"

_**Darkness------------------------------------------ **_

It was time this ended. Enough was enough, and this was enough torment. Yugi squeezed her face into his bosom as his illuminating tears came down riotously. He was going make it stop…

"Please, Izzy…I'm right here in front of you, and I've never been anywhere else this entire time, I swear it."

The tiny version of Isolde glared in the direction of Yugi, playing the soft, low, dreadfully mourning keys of the bloodstained piano while her father watched Yugi with vacant eyes.

"_Dooon't_

_Try to _

_Fix me,_

_I'm not brokeeeen,_

_Hellooo,_

_I'm the_

_Lieeee,_

_Living_

_For you,_

_So you can hiiiide_

_I_

_Don't cry…"_

"WAKE. UP ISOLDE!! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP RIGHT _**NOW**_! Do it for ME! _YUGI MOTOU_!" He shouted in complete rage.

The sixteen year old Isolde's eyelash fluttered for a straining second, before the muscles in her face collapsed again. Her bangs were pressed wildly against Yugi's lean chest, her eyebrow creased backward.

"Izzy…" Yugi stared down on her with huge, watering purple eyes, his lips forever parted into a small loop of confusion. He ignored the scraping vines that began to wholly engulf them. "Wh-Why won't you wake for _m-me_?"

Nine year old Isolde chuckled out her lyrics,

"_Haaas no one_

_Told you_

_She's not_

_Breeeathing,"_

In place of Isolde's response was a Nile River of tears flowing distantly down her cheeks. The dropping crystals glowed into luminosity as she cried unconsciously into him…

That's when the Isolde from the clinging past stood from her piano, yet the gory keys went on playing their sorrowful tune. She watched her father and all the elementary children fade away into the shadows before gaping at Yugi and the present Isolde, yet still she crooned to herself,

"_Suuudden-ly_

_I know_

_I'm not_

_Sleeep-iiiiiing_

_Hellooo?" _

Isolde's mane began to waver in a swift flying motion as her body smoldered brightly. Her light reflected off Yugi's bewildered eyes.

"Wha…?" His blonde bangs rose underneath the breezes of the zephyr the light energy produced.

The beam compressed against the density of the floor like a silent and intense explosion. The colossal orb destroyed the screeching vines and murky muck that once flooded and poisoned the floor of Isolde's mind.

The past Isolde felt herself crying as she watched the scene happen in front of her. She sobbed out the last of her song,

"_I'm still_

_Heeeere_

_Alll that's left_

_Of_

_Yeeeest-er_

_Daaaaayyyyy…"_

_**(Song, "Evanescence – 'Hello'")**_

**Shadow Realms--------------------- **

"Use the Creation of Light to find the tunnel out. I'm sure the Shadows will spare at least one of us." Yami Atemu said slowly and clearly.

"No." Yahshi firmly replied.

"You heard Maibe. And since you feel as if you drag me down, then its best you escape before you get immortally injured." He turned his back in preparation to continue without her.

Yahshi stood immediately. "I'm not letting you go without me!"

"_YAHSHI."_

She cringed, yet tried to remain fearless in the face of his powerfully strong voice.

"…J-J…Just save yourself…" Yami Atemu's blonde bangs shadowed the narrow outline of eyes. "…I can't lose you again…not to her…not to anyone." He glared ahead and clenched his fists. "It was a solemn promise…it was …an oath. And I won't break it."

Yahshi continued to try and disregard his words with effort "I don't care what you say! I won't leave you here by yourself!" she held her arm with one hand and looked down uselessly. "…I want…to PROTECT you…"

An earth-shattering roar quaked the sands of the desolate darkness. Looks like what Maibe said was true.

Atemu braced himself into battle stance, his Puzzle taking hold of a blinding light. "It's a shadow monster!"

Out of the lazy blackness came an enormously outsized black King Cobra, its scales carrying the ancient hieroglyphics of all the deities in Egypt. The black blaze of its eyes locked target on the Pharaoh and his Queen, and his head broadened as he stood over them dominantly.

"A-Apep…" Yahshi heaved a breath from her breast. "He's the original God of Darkness that tackled the deities of Egypt."

Apep opened his fanged mouth and hissed sinisterly, striking threats at the two with constant lashes.

Atemu pulled a few duel monsters from his deck. "I'll call forth Celtic Guardian and Summon Skull!"

The monsters emerged before of him. "Protect us from this shadow beast!"

The monsters detained their position as the serpent slithered toward them.

Yami began to shove Yahshi back. "Go, now!"

"_No_! Don't be a Stupid Pharaoh!"

"Grah, this is no time to ARGUE! Just do as I say and _**go**_!"

A detonated explosion interrupted them.

Celtic Guardian had just been struck by the beast's tail and demolished. It squeezed its muscled body around Summon Skull's lungs, crushing him into suffocation.

Yahshi decided to show her strength and summon her own Ka after stepping in front of her Pharaoh, "Eye of Horus, attack this demon!"

The Griffin with the head of an Eagle, forelegs of a lion and back legs of a horse thrashed out and scarred the snake's right eye violently. But almost in the same moment, Apep lunged out and ingested the beast out of the sky. Apep then whipped its massive body across Yahshi, sending her soaring through the venomous air.

"YAHSHI, NO!" Yami Atemu felt his heart shatter into a million particles.

With his mind wholly diverted, the Cobra bided a sphere of electrocuting light from his throat, building it up for Atemu only.

Yahshi shakily elevated her head, her broad strands wildly straddled out in her scarred face.

She throatily warned her lover, "…L-Lord Atemu…BEHIND y-you…"

Darkness---------------------------

She could hear him, sighing her name in cavernous profundity.

She could hear the concern and precious anticipate in his affectionate voice that opened up her mind.

Her clouded turquoise eyes saw nothing but distorted haze as they leisurely opened, hearing the faded call. She then made out the worried, violet irises gazing down on her, their lights diluted and tremulous.

"…Yugi…?"

_**YUGI'S POINT OF VIEW------------ **_

I-Izzy…

"…You're alright…" I smiled in relief, ready to_ c-cry_.

I was so happy to know she was conscious and unharmed. I was so happy to be holding her in my arms again…it made my heart heal.

"Oh Yugi…" a tiny smile cambered on her beautiful, even if blemished, face. "…Y-You're _here_…"

I softened my eyes in that churning feeling I just wish I could admit to her. "…I've always been here…"

Isolde unexpectedly threw her arms around my neck and hugged me nice and tight. "…I…I felt I was dying, but then…you came and saved me from the dark." She realized between little sobs. I felt her hug me tighter. "…You were there for me this wh-whole time, and I didn't see you in front of me until n-now…Yugi."

My arms found their place around her body for a strong yet gentle lock. "Now Isolde," I watched her cry as I set my hand atop her head. "You have to promise me that you'll never doubt me like that again. There's just no way in heaven or hell that I'd ever give up on you. I'd give my soul and my heart…if I turn that vow back, then it's my fault."

Shadow Realms------------

The superior serpent released the discharge of inferno, and it was hurled directly into Atemu's distance. However, he was too traumatized over the display of Yahshi's bloodied scab on the side of her temple, and was just about to dash to her until she shrieked for him to not come any nearer.

"Sa-RA, please, d-don't look back and just RUN!"

"Yahshi, what are…?" Atemu then felt the scorch of fire scuttling toward him.

Sweat strode down his cheek, as he just barely made the attempt to rotate his head over his shoulder and stare into the eyes of his final demise…

His pupil dilated, before being veiled over by the closing of his eyelid.

Atemu waited for the flames, but his demise apparently didn't hatch, for when he opened his eyes to his savior for the second time, he underwent the pang of impending panic.

Yahshi stood in front of him, acting as a shield between Yami Atemu and the beam as her Millennium Bangle gleamed radiantly, the eye of Horus imprinted on her forehead. Her palms remained collapsed, but her body was also generating a sleek shine of power with her strands of hair dispersed into a million directions. She was straining some type of safeguard, using all of her very soul energy.

The confused Pharaoh only stepped forward, fearing that if he touched her, the spell would break. "YAHSHI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Pro…TECTING you," Yahshi growled under her agony, her pores letting the sweat leak and the muscles of her face taking on an intense stiffen.

But as strange as it seemed, Apep instantaneously swallowed the rest of his beam and yowled in a hiss of agony, coiling into himself as if he had been punctured in the belly.

Yahshi's ancient spells broke off also before she wearily stepped to Atemu with a successful and weary smile and then collapsing into his chest.

"…Yahshi…" Atemu pulled her close to his pulsating heart, one hand threaded in her scalp and the other to her waist. "Y-You…saved me."

Yahshi's honeyed eyes progressively peered into an opening, the lights trembling in her iris. "Y-You are…my King…a-and all Kings…must be protected a-and served."

"And you are my _**Queen**_; you have no forced duty of protection over me." Atemu added in impatiently, worrying to his face as he tried to stroke bangs from her eyes to see her scratched face.

Yahshi weakly shook her head. "…No…you don't understand. I never want to lose you, like you don't want to lose me. I never want to be separated from you, like you don't want to be separated from me. Don't you see?" She then nestled close to him, exhaling warmishly, "…I just want to be here like this…in your arms. I want you to be happy…I want you to stay here…with me. I just want to hold you close, hold you close and I say 'I love you' and heal your heart.…" a more sincere smile spread across her face as tears came down. "See, my King? It IS my duty."

Atemu didn't smile, however. He just gazed upon her, easing his eyelids with the slight part of his lips, "Words aren't enough to explain how much you mean to me, my Yahshi."

In the distance, Atemu alarmingly watched the serpent of darkness twist and churn until he painfully regurgitated all their fallen monsters, and soon enough, Yugi and Isolde.

The two slithered out of the snake's mouth nice and slow until their slimed bodies slid onto the floor, drenched in the much of the snake's belly. They coughed and hacked, tears wedged from their eyelashes.

"YUGI! ISOLDE!" Atemu and Yahshi croaked.


	16. Strangers to Love Not Strangers to Doubt

_**Strangers to Love; Not Strangers to Doubt**_

_**Disclaimer: **__All of those who have read the original version of this story should know that it is going to have a few more extra chapters you HAVEN'T ever read in this story involving the ending episodes of YGO. So you miiiight wanna stick around to see something neeeew written by me. Oh, and I may be coming up with a story involving Ryou, Bakura and Maibe (my character). It'll be a Ryou x Bakura x Maibe thing. Maibe will have a past that connects well with Yahshi's family and it's more like something affectionate and dear instead of evil. One spoiler: Maibe and the 'Nephthys Goddess of Femi" duel monster are basically the same person….in a way. Doh! You'll find out, just review this chapter and I'll write more YGO stuff, lol! _

_This chapter mostly revolves around a burning argument between Yami Atemu and Yahshi. Not Pretty! …I laugh at the idea of Yahshi cussing Atemu out…_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_(Song, "Let Me Go" by Three Doors Down)_

_**One more kiss could be the best thing…**_

Finally, it was over. Maibe, Zorc, the darkness was over. Once Yugi and Isolde returned to their Yamis, the street light lit up and they were back on their original boulevard. 

Yami Atemu hiked the avenues peacefully with his Thema, but his fingers were settled in the folds of his pockets instead of her hand. His head stayed bowed and his eyes stayed hardened. They weren't soft and shimmering, they were dangerous and intent. However, Yahshi lusted for him most when his face was marked with the lines of solemnity. Yet at this moment, he was neglecting her…

The one thing she wasn't used to. 

Laughter, smiles and love was on neither of their minds in this moment…

_**Or one more laugh could be the worst…**_

Yahshi found herself staring into contours of his roughly smooth face originally molded by triumph and regality. She was hoping he'd crane his head to her with a questioning expression flushed over his face, but he was too deep in the depths of his bottomless thoughts to even remember she was walking alongside him.

They passed the sodium lights once Yahshi's eyes fell to her slippers. 

Why…was the O' Beautiful Pharaoh thinking so passionately to himself? 

She even witnessed his teeth clench. 

_**And now these thoughts are never resting**_

_**You're not somethin' I deserve**_

Yahshi's fingers clung to her dress once Atemu finally moved a muscle. He only reared back his head to gaze into the constellation of stars gazing right back at him. His nose was wrinkled and scrunched, the lines upon his forehead and face, lips vaguely parted. 

Yahshi blinked in focus of every movement. She could see the veins tightening in the lean masculinity of his arms, the agitated breath abandon him. 

What was the O' Beautiful Pharaoh thinking so passionately to himself about? 

But then the disbelieving happened, and the Pharaoh uttered his thoughts aloud, "Yahshi…"

She flinched, frowning. 

_**In my head there's**_

_**On-ly you now**_

_**This world falls**_

_**On**_

_**Me**_

Atemu blinked in realization of his blurt while staring in a surprised fit at Yahshi. His mouth remained open in awe of his mistake before he decided to face himself ahead with closed eyes. "I've…been thinking lately…"

She slanted her eyelids. 

"You and I…are two birds of a feather…" His voice didn't match the usually romantic theme of his words. No, it came out worried and uncertain, like he had no belief in his own sentence. 

_**In this world there's real and**_

_**Make believe**_

_**This seems real to me**_

"Who seem close and distant from one another because our memory bank is empty." He couldn't even look at her. "We only have clips and short stories of our relationship back in Egypt—"

His Thema suddenly stopped in mid-walk, backing up and staying in one spot in the darkness of the night. "Tell me your point, PHARAOH." Yahshi was showing her irritation. The sting to her eyes were hurting and clouding her. 

Atemu could only watch the watery fire dance in her orbs with a taken aback expression. The confusion in his mind conceived into a slight annoyance on his end. The Pharaoh of darkness and light combined stepped under the sodium light. 

That is when Yahshi saw in surprise he wasn't her Pharaoh anymore, not her lover. 

"My point IS how can a love be so vacant and go against the definition of love itself? How is this HEALTHY for us, Yahshi! TELL me!" The wine tips of Atemu's tri-colored hair had gone a glossy crimson under the diffused light. His eyes weren't the same, either. Not amethyst…but ruby. 

The transformation was complete.

He looked sinister, just like his former Yami self. 

That is when she comprehended she knew nothing about him after she took that step backwards. 

_**You love me**_

_**But you don't know**_

_**Who I am**_

_**I'm torn between this life I lead**_

_**And where I stand**_

_**And you love me**_

_**But you don't know**_

_**Who I am**_

_**So let me go**_

_**Let **_

_**Me go**_

When Yahshi couldn't answer him, Atemu's full black eyelashes rested upon his cheeks before he turned his back on her in spite, walking quietly away. 

His dreams were to find out about HIS past, not hers or their past love. Was that really a great importance to the question of how he sent Egypt to its grave? 

_**I dream ahead for what I hope for**_

_**And I turn my back on**_

_**Loving you**_

"Did our ordeal not convince you it doesn't MATTER how much of strangers we are to one another, but the bond that forever stays familiar! We overthrew DARKNESS with our hearts COMBINED." Yahshi roared after him, balling her fists. "I UNDERSTAND that you've been blind for five millennia, but does that mean your common sense has been blinded as WELL?" 

"_**Yahshi**__, once AGAIN _you are clueless to what I am trying to help you understand…" Atemu's boots halted and posed in the middle of the concrete, his voice tuning from commanding to an aching gentleness. "You can't just stand there and tell me you don't feel that painful gap between us…we smile in the other's face, speak of oaths and romance, but at the end of the day I can't help but stare into my hand—" he lifted his palm to his line of sight, exploring the whorls and outlines. "—and wonder why I can't love you to full potential…why I can't say 'I love you' without my breathing suddenly becoming heavier with gravity…why I can't hold you without sensing that you're slipping away from me faster and faster…Why…I can't love you like a King is SUPPOSED to love his Queen." 

_**How can this love be a good thing?**_

_**You do not what I'm goin' through**_

_**In my head there's**_

_**On-ly you now**_

Atemu's fingers enveloped into a trembling fist of anger for himself. His eyebrows knotted down on his shut eyelids, his lip twitching. "WHY…can't we be happy without the lingering strings of DOUBT, Yahshi? You DOUBT me so greatly; it's more passionate than your affection for me. The world is on my shoulders for as long as I stay apart of this world, but your doubt for me is another baggage unnecessary. Don't you realize, that you doubt me because you don't know me like you SHOULD? We only have three different chapters of our life we've seen – our childhood, our reunite and our war for love! THREE chapters over a DECADE. Our gap is very REAL. We can not IGNORE it." 

_**This world falls**_

_**On **_

_**Me**_

_**In this world there's**_

_**Real and**_

_**Make-believe**_

_**And this seems real to me**_

Yahshi's extensive eyelashes were pearled with mounting crystal tears. 

She was hurt.

She was dismayed.

She was disappointed.

She was infuriated. 

Atemu's eyes narrowed in a slant of wretchedness, for he felt hurt by his own confessions. "Do you understand me now?" His voice even cracked. "You love me, but you don't know who I am…I love you, but I don't know who you A-ARE, Yahshi!" 

_**And you love me**_

_**But you don't know**_

_**Who I **_

_**Am**_

_**I'm torn between this life I lead and**_

_**Where I stand**_

_**You love me**_

_**But you don't **_

_**Who I**_

_**Am**_

_**So let me go**_

_**Just let me go…**_

The great Pharaoh finally stepped out of the sodium light and into the arena of darkness, ominous amethyst eyes glowing like a cat. Yahshi walked forward, stumbling over her toes, but determined to reach his boundary. She could quite vividly see her Pharaoh backing away from her presence the nearer she stepped. He was acting like a frightened stray mutt unsure of whether to take the free meal on the sidewalk or not. 

"My Sa-Ra…" Yahshi rasped, her throat parched and raw with soreness from the cracking of her heart. Her eyes were low and heavy, twinkling with the tears that made her irises appear mystically melancholy. "We…are the moon and the stars. You are my moon, I am your star. Please…" Her whispers forever remained drenched in desperation. "Know that the moon and the stars are forever one in the sea of the night, and can never depart even if they don't recognize one another."

Atemu squinted, a sweat roll dribbling down his temple. 

_**And no matter how hard I try**_

_**I can't escape these sins inside**_

_**I know**_

_**I know**_

"STUPID Pharaoh! (Her favorite line)" Yahshi then turned violent; she gripped him by the collar of his tank top rather ruthlessly and glowered into his stunned eyes. "You can't love me with full potential because you won't LET yourself! You think too much of why we're strangers in love! You can't murmur, 'I love you' without your breathing becoming heavy with gravity because your heart has fallen so heavily for me by love's gravity! You hold me and feel how distant I am because I can FEEL your QUESTIONS pounding into my own head! I doubt you, because you doubt US!" 

Atemu watched her tears stroll into the corners of her quivering lips, not even attempting to squirm out of her grasp. Yahshi gave out a wail before shoving him away from her so she could wipe all her tears away. She felt betrayed…

_**When all my pieces fall apart**_

_**You will be the only one who knows**_

_**Who knows**_

Yes, his questions had crossed her mind. But never was she TROUBLED by their memory breach. She LOVED him. From the way he stood and walked to every second of his presence and lovely advice. She LOVED him. From the way he thought to every ounce of courageousness he had in the face of scorching evil. She LOVED him. From the way he fought endlessly to the vulnerability of his hopelessness when all seemed lost…

Atemu was strong, but he needed to be taken care of. And never had she wanted to forever serve and heal the weakness of a strong man more than the last Son of Ra himself. She would be proud to call herself his slave. 

The Pharaoh ultimately directed his eyes to the pavement beneath his feet, his narrowed eyes eased and regretful. The rays of blue light trembled thoughtfully against his pupils. "Yahshi…"

He made his scenic divine cry. 

He made his Goddess sob.

He made his QUEEN…ache. 

With his outbursts of senseless stupidity. 

This wouldn't be the first time he's pushed someone away. 

_**And you love me**_

_**But you don't know**_

_**Who I am**_

_**I'm torn between this life I lead and**_

_**Where I**_

_**Stand**_

_**And you love me**_

_**But you don't know**_

_**Who I **_

_**Am**_

_**So let me go…**_

_**Just let me go…**_

"S-Sa-R-Ra…" Yahshi collapsed to her knee pads and bent over on her palms, tipping her head down as she bowed before him. 

Atemu gasped roughly, taking one step back. "Yahshi, what are you DOING?" 

"PLEASE, S-Sa-Ra…d-don't l-leave me…I always told myself a m-man would N-NEVER make me cry, but DAMN IT, Atemu…d-damn it…" She sobbed aloud, tears splattering against the cold earth. 

"This is n-nonsense, Yahshi! Get off your knees!" 

"What must I prove to you that your doubts don't MATTER! That you have to OVERCOME and OVERPOWER your f-fears just like you did the DARKNESS! Th-This is why we NEED each other. I want to protect you from YOURSELF! I love the ground you walk on, I love the pedestal of accuracy your mind sits on, but sometimes you're as imperfect as you are p-perfect!" Yahshi's tearstained face rose to him. 

The tears imbedded in her cheeks are what broke Atemu most…

_**You love me**_

_**But you don't know**_

_**You love me**_

_**But you don't**_

_**You love me**_

_**But you don't**_

_**Know who I**_

_**Am**_

_**And you love me**_

_**But you don't**_

_**You love me**_

_**But you don't**_

_**You love me**_

_**But you**_

_**Don't**_

_**Know**_

_**Who…**_

"So we remember only th-three chapters…three paragraphs, three sections…point is we remember each other nonetheless! We are HERE regardless! You can't tap into the full potential of your feelings for me because you BLOCK yourself! So WHAT if we forgot our past? DAMN the past! Th-This…is a NEW time, my King! You were NEVER the same person once Yugi solved the Puzzle!" She oddly smiled. "And you're right….I don't…I don't recognize you…I don't know who the hell you a-are because some parts of you changed…so then let me love the YAMI before me, instead of the ATEMU five thousand years ago…"

Yami Atemu's thoughts shattered. He didn't need to hurt his brain to think any more deeply into it…for she was right.

He was not the same person as he was five thousand years back. He bet if he were to revisit the past, he wouldn't know a clue of how to act like himself. 

The spirit of the Pharaoh soon closed his eyes with briefness before bending down and helping Yahshi to her feet. "A Queen shouldn't be on her knees…" 

"And if you abandon this Queen, she'll have you on your knees…" Yahshi glared weakly. "If you don't love me, Yami Atemu, then say it without complication! Tell me RIGHT now you're not in love with—MMPH!" 

Yami Atemu had enough, and shut her up. He compressed his mouth desperately over hers, eyebrows furrowing backwards in desire for her forgiveness. Yahshi gave a slight jerk of the body, but Atemu forced her to him muscularly. This is when she melted in her craving for his robustness and rammed her tongue against the slobbery base of his.

They shared starving kisses under the darkness. 

A kiss of renewal and re-acquaintance. 

_**In my head there's**_

_**On-ly**_

_**You now…**_

_**In this world there's**_

_**Real and make-believe**_

_**But this seems real…**_

_**To**_

_**Me…**_

The transparent Yugi and Isolde glimpsed at each other in smiles. '

_**GAME SHOP**_

Finally, home.

The ring of the name sounded nice in their tongues. 

"O' Ra, at LAST." Yahshi's lips curved happily as she was about to outstretch her slim fingers for the door's handle, but then Yami Atemu's palms grabbed her gently by the shoulders to turn her to him. "…Atem--…Yami?" She swallowed, remembering it was now Yami she had to love, not her former Pharaoh. 

Yami Atemu's lavender orbs evidently searched and scanned the emotion dancing in her amber ones. His glossy lips altered into the thinnest of little smiles. The moonlight shined upon their backs in a cerulean bask. 

_(Song, "Adesso E' Fesnra - Eternity" – Lodoss War) _

_**Caught by the moonlight**_

_**A silent wind of shimmer in the trees**_

_**Oh what a night for dreams**_

_**A night for destiny**_

The delicate muscles of Yahshi's face softened into a tender confusion yet rapture of his beauty. This wonderfully beautiful 'stranger' was the traveler in time that had come to share his destiny with her for eternity. 

Her pink lips fell into a loose 'o'. "…My Yami?_" _

_**Others are sleeping**_

_**So we're the only ones who hear the music in**_

_**The air**_

_**The magic you weave**_

_**Just for me**_

_**Adesso e Fesnra**_

"Never will I doubt our bond ever again." He smiled, nodding once. "Just like Yugi, you're always the one to show me the light. And Yahshi, I thank you…" Yami Atemu leant forward and touched her forehead with his lips. 

Fireflies from the midnight landed on his bangs and eyelashes, and glittered in her wide eyes and swaying bangs.

_**Deep as the ocean**_

_**With every kiss I'm deeper in**_

_**Your spell**_

_**Love me again tonight**___

She caressed the jaw bone of his facial structure to part him from her forehead and simply plant the seed of her kiss over his opened mouth. Her King's eyes dimmed in sincere twinkles of overwhelm. He felt as if he was finally feeling the full potential of his love for her. Maybe it took the aftermath of their vicious battle against Zorc

_**You are my one desire**_

_**Waves of emotion**_

_**I know that this is where I want**_

_**To be**_

_**Locked in your arms**_

_**With no key**___

Yahshi withdrew from him to glimpse at the shooting stars zipping and skidding across the cobalt skies. She smiled, breath against his face, eyes pondering how her King would always be each and every single one of those stars, and how he's walked her through them millions of times. 

"Yahshi…" Atemu breathed against her cheek, face tilted to the right. "Mind if…I propose to remarry you, as Yahshi Isiserah?" 

"And you, Yami Motou…" She hummed in harmony. "I accept your proposal…"

_**Sweet fascination**_

_**You whisper soft and low**_

_**And I am swept**_

_**Away**_

_**Adesso e' Fesnra**_

Yami Atemu gave a husky chuckle before catching her in his bold arms. His kisses seeped all the way into the crook of her neck. "I never thought I was meant to be with anyone…but now I see, there's nothing wrong with loving someone." 

Yahshi felt herself gasp and arch when his body leant her against the wall of the Game shop. Her former Pharaoh tucked his tongue into her collarbone, nibbling and kissing.

_**A touch of enchantment**_

_**I tremble when you hold me close this way**_

_**Drawn like a moth to a flame**_

Yahshi's eyes rolled back in remarkable seventh heaven. She felt the ecstasy between her thighs when the daring bravery in his face showed alone. Now to have him pressed between her, was…

"Incredible…" she sighed hotly before her lips were enveloped in his. "Mmm…-MMPH!" She moved her head back abruptly to stare at his feverish face. "You b-bite me, Pharaoh…"

_**My fate is in your arms tonight**_

_**The love is shining in your eyes**_

_**Will you be mine**_

_**Tomorrow**_

_**Adessso e' Fesnra**_

_**My heart will never more be free**_

_**Apart of you I'll always be**_

_**From now until**_

_**Eternity**_

"I know." He rumbled, tugging at her lower lip lustfully. 

Shame, doubt, disappointment was replaced with love, understanding and desire. 

However, Yugi's Yami ended their sensual pose against the wall at the sound of Grandpa's door bell chorused while he opened it. 

_**Yugi's Bedroom**_

Night seemed like a phantom hiding the evil darkness in its closet, for the Pharaoh was positive none of this was over. It could never be over. 

Chirp...

Chirp…

Chirp…

The midnight air sang its melodious beats of Mother Nature. 

The last Son of Ra listened wistfully once resting his back against the cushiony mattress of Yugi's bed. He closed his passionate eyes, the expression of knit-down eyebrows forever stuck on his face even through his peace. No, he could never find peace. Something was always bottled up in his mind. His face only brightened to the sight of his friend's happiness, but never his own. For that time he spent with Yahshi he had even somewhat faked his happiness due to his doubts, but now…

Yami turned his face to the sleeping Queen straddled out beside him. 

He smiled. 

In this night, he found the true meaning of happiness without pressuring gravity weighing down on it. He could smile and ease the intense muscles in his face…when he glimpsed at his serene Queen. 

_(Song – Anonymous)_

_**I can feel it**_

_**Coming in the air of tonight**_

_**Oh Ra**_

_**And I've been waiting for this moment**_

_**All my Life**_

_**Oh Ra**_

Yugi's translucent self drifted alongside his Yami, grinning._ "So, how do you feel? Better?" _

Yami lifted his attention to his 'Hikari', before closing his eyes and smiling once again. "Complete." But once his eyelids partially raised, Yugi detected the moonlight hitting the fragments of bothersome in his eyes. 

"…_Is…there something ELSE wrong too?" _Yugi's lips fell into that innocent, 'o'. 

_**Can you feel it**_

_**Coming in the air of tonight?**_

_**Oh Lord**_

_**Oh Lord**_

"…I've just been pondering about 'love' too much more than the secrets of my past. I never thought I'd be the type to fall under its will, because my mind stays elsewhere. But now…it's all I can think about. All I could worry about." Suddenly, he broke out into a chuckle. "I can't fall under anything else such as darkness and hopeless for TOO long, but I've ETERNALLY fallen under…HER forever."

Yugi just smiled with a sad glow to it_. "…I think something ELSE is wrong with you, Pharaoh." _

Yami Atemu's chuckles ceased to exist now as he stared at his little light as if he had gone deaf. 

_**So you wipe off that grin, I know where you've been**_

_**Your vibe has been a little different**_

_Yugi closed his eyes and faded away. _

Silent in his own head, Yami quietly glanced at his Queen. His brawny finger stroked a hair from between her eyelashes. He blinked back in confusion when she had jolted as if someone stabbed her the moment he touched her. Now he became worried all over again…

"Yahshi…?" He whispered vaguely, fearful to touch her again.

_**I want to understand you so much more**_

_**Open the door**_

She remained in her cringed pose, trembling in her sleep, unconsciously afraid of his touch. 

_**The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows**_

_**It's no stranger to you and me**_

_**Lately I've been trying to keep my distance**_

Atemu was fearful to disturb her rest again, so he simply watched her gnaw into her lip. But the urge to speak into her eardrum couldn't brush him by easily, so he leant into her face, parting his precious lips to ask, "…What is it…?" 

Yahshi's eyebrows twitched as she winced once or twice in her dreams, rime tears of icy crystal beading along the row of her eyelashes. _"Oh Sa-Ra…Why…?" _

"Why what?" Atemu's eye widened. 

_**If you told me you were drowning, I would've lent a hand**_

_**I've seen your face before, but I don't know if you know who I am**_

Yahshi's cold lips began to tremble as her cool prickly breath whispered her dreams to him_, "S-Sa…Ra…HELP me…wh-why won't…you h-help me…?" _

_**I can feel it coming in the air of tonight**_

_**Oh Ra**_

_**Can you feel the darkness**_

_**Coming in the air of tonight**_

_**Oh Ra**_

"Yahshi, YAHSHI," Yami held her arms, shaking her lightly. "I'm right HERE." 

She squirmed, whimpering as her tears paced faster. _"I-I remember…a-and you wouldn't help m-me!" _She was speaking unconsciously to his questions._ "Y…You can't save me now…you swore to the GODS…y-you…promised. Y-You left me…" _Yahshi buried her face into the pillow, coughing and choking like she was bleeding from the inside after a powerful blow. She looked as if she were having a seizure.

_**Well I remember, I remember, don't worry**_

_**How could I ever forget**_

_**It was the first time**_

_**The last time**_

_**We ever met**_

Atemu sat up now with her cradled in his arms. He shook her more, eyes buggy and violently alarmed. "Yahshi, wake UP." 

Yahshi gave out an agonized scream before springing awake with her nails bored into his arms. Her eyes were red from the irritation of burning tears as she stared up at her King, panting in severity._ "…M…My Sa-R-Ra…" _

_**I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes**_

_**Your oaths all been a pack of lies**_

"Yahshi…" Atemu's eyebrow quirked. "You were screaming and SHAKING to death in your sleep!" 

"…M-Maibe…" She swallowed hoarsely under her tears after a moment of thinking. "Sh…She haunts me s-still…the memory of my assassination…h-haunts me…Her and…the Thief King…"

"THIEF King?" Yami roared. That title sounded very fitting to someone he knew…

"Bakura…" Yahshi wiped her face, noticing that Yugi's Yami hadn't released her arms. "Maibe and B-Bakura...took part in my assassionation and the battle between you and Z-Zorc…his eyes haunt my nightmares….e-ever since…I met you…"

_**I can feel it in the air tonight**_

_**Oh Ra**_

_**Oh Ra**_

_**Can you feel it in the air tonight**_

_**Oh Ra…**_

_**I can feel the darkness calling**_

_**In the air of tonight**_

_**Oh Ra…**_


	17. Lithium

Lithium

_**Lithium**_

**Disclaimer: **_Woo! All I can say is the newest events of this chapter aaaare - Lemon between Atemu and Yahshi, and a convo between Bakura and Maibe which'll give you some hints on their background. I'd say the renewed sequel to this story would mostly focus on Maibe and Bakura's relationship with Atemu and Yahshi's family. ENJOY! Oh, and don't be a silent reader please X.x; Or I just won't continue the rest of the story, so please review to let me know you're reading/want me to go ahead with it!_

--

The night didn't feel so cold anymore. But it wasn't young, either. The sun was soon to rise.

Yahshi stared restlessly into the apparent lights in her Pharaoh's eyes, his arms draped around her and her fingers to his collarbone. They remained curled up into one another against the mattress of Yugi's bed, staring…

"…Can I chant you a secret?" Yahshi whispered, the drowsiness of sleep wading over her amber eyes.

"What kind of secret?" Atemu muttered lazily, not in the last bit tired.

"A secretive secret…" She grinned.

Atemu could only put on a faint smirk. "Alright…tell me your 'secretive secret'."

"After our spirits were sealed in our Millennium items, I won't deny it that…I forgot who you were, Sa-Ra." She struggled to confess herself to him. "I forgot…your name and our past. But I kept seeing your face constantly when I lied awake or when I laid down to sleep. I loved your haunting face, to be honest. And as I searched the portals of my mind, I found four chapters of our past together."

"So then…you know how I felt when I said—"

"Yes, I do. But listen to me closely when I say this," Yahshi's nose nearly brushed his. "Your Millennium Puzzle and my Sennen Bangle were not created through the same spell. My Bangle was constructed by my mother, the reincarnation of Nephthys, as her mother before her and my grandmother. Her name is not just a name. That means 'I' am the reincarnation of the Goddess herself."

Atemu's eyebrow quirked, blinking in a bundle of muddling thoughts. "So then how are my Puzzle and your Bangle connected?"

"Because they were all made by one God. The Sennen Bangle and the Sennen Puzzle fell in love long ago…but they were in different forms, and not of jewelry." She then chuckled at her words. "It's not as cheesy as it sounds, but you see, your father and my mother had their moments of love. Yes, she has loved many…and yes, she has kept the secret of her feelings for your father from me, but the Bangle revealed that to me tonight. Atemu, the holders of our items before us were lovers, because of their items, not necessarily because of their hearts. They are all linked. So in a way, you and I had no choice when our destinies interlocked. That is why Yugi and Isolde are beginning to fall under such a tight spell. If it hadn't been for this, Yugi would be blushing over Tea still."

"…I…never thought of it that way." Atemu blinked more, but soon eased his face on hers. "So then…no matter what…despite our old doubts and gaps, in the end we WILL remain together because of the Sennen items…"

Yahshi nodded, kissing the glossy light shimmering on his bottom lip.

_**(Later in the Midnight)**_

Yahshi watched her King sleep. His face wasn't so stern in his dreams, either. He looked peaceful and almost innocent…like his little Aibou, Yugi. But he also looked vulnerable…something Yahshi also desired to see. Her eyelashes fluttered while her toes curled, daring herself to do something bold…

"…Mmm…" She draped her arms around her King's waist and dipped her head into his eardrum, slickly flicking a tongue at his ear's frame to test his reactions. Would he like it? Would he moan? Would he grunt and brush her away?

"Hmph…" Yami Atemu shuddered, eyebrows creasing back. He muttered something and turned onto his side, his back facing her now.

Yahshi pouted. He thought he'd ruin her fun? Well he could guess again.

She once more found herself seeping her salivated tongue into his eardrum, flooding it. The wet sensation caused him to groan huskily in his slumber. She giggled mentally, and traced her tongue into his nape, kissing into the crook of his neck.

He tasted yummy.

Yami Atemu gave a strangled breath, his fists tightening against the sheets underneath him. He felt her small hands hiking over his nude stomach and chest underneath his vest like a spider. His member hardened and prodded against the leather of his pants…

Yugi and Isolde watched from afar in sweat drops, hands clasped over their mouths.

Yahshi felt curiosity plague her. She licked her lips when she saw his teeth grit in a sexual grunt. To see the powerful Pharaoh in torment was her fetish at the moment.

Her fingers traveled down his thigh and hesitated at the bugle throbbing there. She had always wanted to touch him, but never had she ever acted on it. Just before she could bring herself to even rest her fingers over the erected manhood, Atemu's hand snatched her wrist.

Yahshi yelped sharply at the unexpected move and stared into his awakening face, seeing the red flush of lust feverishly upon his face.

"Y…Yahshi…?" His voice even seemed to be steaming with heat as he glanced up at her. "What…a-are you—"

She took the boldness firing her heart and draped her tongue over his lips, her slaver leaking into his mouth while she slowly ran the mouth-based appendage up along his lips. She watched him hesitantly tender his eyes, which were now dipped in ecstasy.

The sudden rush of their intimacy became familiar to both their minds…

_**/Flashback/**_

_His hands massaged her flat stomach before roaming down along her waist. Feelings of temptation spurted through her. _

"…_Sa-Ra?" She breathed hotly. _

"_Mm?" Atemu was on the verge of closing his eyes, with his lips to her forehead. _

_Alone in their bedroom for Kings and Queens, she couldn't help but feel the wet warmth settling there between her thighs. No one was here and they could get away with many things in the musical night. _

"…_Is it a crime to be intimate?" Yahshi breathed audibly against his mouth while stealing short kisses from him once he retracted himself from her forehead. Her eyes were forever drowned in his. She guided his hand down her thigh, right beneath her Egyptian robbing. _

_He watched her with his mouth open, eying the candy-caramel tone of her breasts half-exposed as she began to sensually slide out of her garment. "…Should it be?" _

"_I'll take this as an invitation…" Yahshi just licked her lips and nipped at her Pharaoh's lower lip hungrily, fingers tight on his Pharaoh garment. _

_She slowly went on flickering her tongue at his, as Atemu watched with lazy eyes that were seemingly heavy with covetousness. She moaned with desperation and caressed his face closer to hers to bury her tongue into the mine of his throat, lugging out a deep groan to rumble in his chest. Atemu's fingers journeyed up her thigh and buttock, grasping her there. _

_Yahshi drove him to the mattress of the room, soon withdrawing from his lips to leave a string of saliva between their panting mouths. She scanned over her King's expressions and reactions, looking for a sign to tell her she wasn't doing anything wrong. Before she could read his intensified expression, he grumbled in rising urge and yanked her down beneath him. _

"_Tonight, you belong to __**me**__…" The Pharaoh firmly verified, pinning his hips to hers so she could experience the compressing stir of his member jabbing into her between the garbs. "Not Cairo, not Ra, just me…" _

"_A…Al-Always…and forever." Yahshi obliged to his demanding voice of hardheartedness and arched her back to squirm. Her heart felt ready to burst and the tickles nipping at her body were driving her into madness. "Y-You are my God, my King…I-I am your Kingdom Cairo, so c-conquer it like you shall t-tomorrow…" _

"_Yes…" Atemu sighed with a breath of hotness before dipping his tongue past hers, enveloping her mouth with his own. _

_His tongue explored every crevice and secret of her mouth, marking every valley as his territory with the sogginess of his aggressive tongue. Yahshi almost felt overwhelmed by his hostile dominance, but nonetheless her body rose with an increasing temperature, and her thighs were leaking…. _

_Her King felt a jolt of electrical static waves from his heart to his crotch. He stripped off his upper garment, revealing a caramel-tanned torso, beautiful and leanly masculine. As Atemu left himself occupied with his royal accessories of the circlet and bangles, Yahshi dragged her fingers up his lean stomach. _

"_Sa-Ra…" She whined, a tear dribbling from the corner of her eye. "…Let me give you each and every one of Egypt's midnight stars…let me give you the love the Gods could never grant you with…" She scooted herself down so her fingers could be touching against his knees with his legs beside her collarbone. His pulse quickened. "Don't be startled…" _

_Atemu's eyes softened as she kissed his knees and massaged his naked thighs, showing her affection and care, not her eagerness. _

_After a moment later, Atemu rumbled in pleasure to feel her head slipping between his garb and the slant of her tongue wagging at the head of his solidified appendage. "Y-Yahshi…" He sighed, head tipping back. "Th-That's…." His words faded into a moan. _

_She took the Pharaoh of Beauty's authority into her sizzling mouth, wanting to please his aching wishes and gratify her craves. She had never craved anything so badly, but the body, mind and soul of her lover tonight. He felt and tasted fantastic, to where her head was light and spinning. _

"_O-Oh Ra…" Atemu gently danced with his hips to force himself deeper into the tunnel of wet heat. _

_His soon to be queen moaned and took more of him into her, as the deliberation of drinking the seed of her King's power and love left her marveling. His fingers threaded in her scalp to thrust himself further as he felt his world melting into her throat. Atemu achingly released an ejaculation of all the love he had to offer. His limp, drenched member sluggishly slid out from between her lips once the offering was given. _

"_Omorose Y-Yahshi…simply b-beautiful…I've never felt anything c-close to th-that…before…" Atemu exhaled and inhaled hoarse breaths, feeling a wave of relief and satisfaction sweep over his cool and hot body. _

_The sweat kissed his tan breasts, the knobs of his bosoms hardened and his full black eyelashes gemmed with crystallite tears. He swiped away the river of his sap from the corner of her lip, preparing to plant himself into the bud of her untouched flower…_

_**/End of Flashback/ **_

Yahshi and Atemu broke off from their zealous kiss. They stared and blinked into one another's moon lit-kissed face, breathing rapidly.

Atemu began, "…So we did—"

"Do it…" Yahshi finished.

Awkwardness seeped into their minds and bodies. Yahshi rolled off her King and sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her elbows as Yugi's Yami sat up and stared into space. Both watched the stars diminish and the sun rise in empty silence.

…Did they really ever have a child way back then?

_**-(Shadow Realms)- **_

"_**So you're telling me…that y-you're…" **__Maibe croaked on her knees, her brown body scarred by splinters of blood. Her now profound turquoise irises found the bottomless floor her fingers were trying to grip between. __**"B-Bakura…" **__She choked while bowing her head in agony, black curly locks of hair straddling over her face. _

_**("Lithium/Farther Away" by Evanescence)**_

_**(Lithium – don't want to lock me up inside**_

_**Lithium – don't want to forget how it feels without)**_

"_**You FAILED Zorc, King of DARKNESS, and YOU'RE taking the blame for it…" **__The white-haired immortal glared at the witch from over the hill of his shoulder. His brown eye narrowed in hatred. __**"You failed ME, Nominie **__(Non-men-nay like…Kingdom Hearts, lol)…" _

"_**Then I sh-shall make it up to you!"**__ Maibe begged through rare tears. _

_**(Don't make me sleep alone**_

_**Couldn't hide the emptiness, **_

_**You let it show)**_

_When was the last time she cried? She reminded stealing the souls of the innocent and making them hers and it was all to hide away the light she once used to be, but…_

_**(I **_

_**Took **_

_**Their **_

_**Smiles and I made them mine**_

_**I**_

_**Sold**_

_**My**_

_**Soul just to hide the light**__)_

_Bakura rasped, his throat sizzling with the blaze of disgust. __**"You're not NEEDED anymore, don't you understand? You were just another puppet. You're nothing…" **_

"_**You are WRONG!" **__Maibe compressed her brown palm over her eye, confused by the falling tears. __**"I-I…was SOMETHING to both you AND Zorc…I was EVERYTHING to y-you…"**_

_By Bakura's expression, she had obviously plucked a string in his blackened heart's solo guitar. He rotated himself fully to her and growled, fist balled. __**"SILENCE. What you were to me was a whore and a string-puppet!" **_

_Maibe jolted her head up to him, almost snapping her neck. __**"…" **_

_**(And now I see what I really am**_

_**A thief, a whore and a liar)**_

_Bakura swiped his thumb across his lips to reveal a deceitful grin. __**"What? You thought you and I were…" **__he finished his sentence with maniac laughter. __**"You're more naïve and gullible than you were when I first MET you if that's the case, my Dear…"**_

"_**Wh…Wh-Why?" **__Maibe scowled weakly, her fingers clutching the cloak in her bosom's area. _

_Her heart was returning…_

_The numb, the guilt, the pain, it was slowly revisiting to her chest…_

(_**I'm numb to you - numb and deaf and blind  
You give me all but the reason why**_

_**Never wanted it to be so cold**_

_**Just didn't drink enough to say you love me)**_

_Bakura just chuckled, his left eye hidden by the thick white bangs. __**"Do me a favor and DIE in darkness, Nominie…" **_

_Maibe inhaled a venomous breath of air and stretched her bony fingers out to him. Bakura just tucked his hand in his pocket and turned his back on her, walking off into the path of blackness. _

"_**B…B-Ba…" **__she could not even whimper his name. She caressed her cheeks, overwhelmed by all the human feelings suddenly reuniting with her. _

_She lost her Lithium – Bakura. _

_**(I reach but I feel only air  
Not you, not love, just nothing**_

_**Call out your name,  
I see you there, father away**_

_**Don't leave me here, by myself  
I can't breathe**_

_**Here in darkness I know myself**_

_**Lithium – I want to stay in love with my sorrow**_

_**Oh but God, I want to let it go)**_

_(End of Song)_

_But as Bakura strolled on, he bowed his head to watch the pattern of his feet. His expression dimmed from crafty to contemplation. _'That was too close…'_ He grunted, closing his eyes with the lines upon his cream-colored face_. 'I don't need her giving me a human HEART. Those days are through with, and our time ended long ago.'

_**-( Next Day – Domino High School)-**_

"HI, IZZY! MORNIN'! DON'T YOU LOOK LOVELY TODAY!!" Tristan, Joey, and Duke greeted in unison.

Isolde sweat dropped at their excited tones. "Um, h-h-hello?"

Duke suddenly appeared at her right. "Those books must be heavy, would you like meeee to carry them for you?" he draped an arm around her.

Izzy took his arm off her and nervously backed away. "Th-that's very kind of you, but I think I can manage…"

"You head her, Dice boy." Tristan stabbed his finger into Duke's bosom. "Lay off, will ya? The girl needs to breathe!" he then dashed up to Isolde's left. "I'LL carry the books for you INSTEAD!"

Joey grinned. "I CAN CARRY YA' BACKPACK!!"

"Back off!" Tea roared. "She doesn't want you guys all in her face! Why are all of you so generous and helpful all of the sudden?! You never carry my things for ME."

All three teens whistled and glanced away, trying to disregard the statement

"Uh..." Joey beamed. "Sorry Tea, but…you're jus' not worth it!"

Tea walloped him with her fist.

_**-(Hall Lockers)-**_

"Soooo Yugi…you uh…tell her yet?" Tea inquired on her short friend while sealing her locker door to a closing.

"Ummm let's see…" Yugi looked down with an edgy chuckle. "…No…?"

"Oh come ON, Yugi! You have to confess sooner than later!"

"I know, I know! Grandpa already lectured it to me. But I…you see, when I try to…my heart ties in a knot, I choke on my words and my palms get extremely sweaty! I'm a nervous wreck when I try to even speak to her…" Yugi looked up to Tea finally. "I don't think I can do it! I'm giving up!"

"Yugi, it's not a choice! You worship this girl, you have to say something to her and not wait until four years later!"

"…I can't…aw man, The Pharaoh's so lucky he was brave enough to admit his feelings…" Yugi mumbled under his breath.

Tea tilted her head. "Why is he lucky?"

"…Izzy's Millennium Bangle holds a spirit too; the spirit of his Queen Yahshi…"

Tea's jaw dropped. "He has a wife…? So then…Yami actually got married to someone he fell in love with 5,000 years ago?"

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, they met when they were little. Those two are like two sticking gummy bears on a hot summer day." He snickered at his own words.

"That close, eh?" Tea tried to pull off a smile, secretly disappointed.

"They're close alright. There is _**no**_ gap between them at all! If you were to tear them apart, their sides might even rip…"

Tea and Yugi walked past their earlier classroom and suddenly saw Izzy speaking with their English teacher.

"There she is!" Tea whispered.

Yugi automatically made a U-turn and tried to run away, but Tea quickly grabbed him by his belt and yanked him back. "Yugi, c'mon this is your chance!" she pleaded.

"You're right, Tea…" he sighed, his face full of scarlet. "I think it's time I faced her…" he headed for the doorway as Tea let him go, unexpectedly about-faced and marched back toward her. "I GIVE UP I CAN'T DO IT!!"

Tea seized him again, "Yugi, this is the perfect time!" she used all her might to push him in front of the entryway. "Go get 'im tiger!"

"What?!" Yugi squealed with a blush. "B-But…I, I, I, I—"

Tea hid behind the doorframe as Izzy came to exit, looking down in deep thought. She then looked up, Yugi freezing with his eyes growing wider and a large lump struggling down his throat.

"Oh, hi Yugi." she smiled.

Yugi only stood there, stiff with the broad beam.

…

"Yugi?" Isolde asked, waving her hand in front of her.

No Response…

"Aha, uhhh…" she nervously grinned. "Are you feeling alright?"

No Response…

Tea sighed quietly and slapped her forehead.

Atemu watched and slightly sweat dropped at this. His 'vessel partner' was an embarrassment, he swore…

"Well, um…I guess…I guess I'll see you after school then. Yeah" Izzy walked around him and out of the classroom.

"What happened?!" Tea blurted after she had left around the corner, herself looking rather jaw-slacked.

Yugi shook off the frozen effect. "..I-I froze…I told you I can't do it!"

"Yes, you CAN! You have to or else you might never get that chance again." She quickly became sincere about the situation, instead of annoyed. "…For your own sake, tell her before it's too late if…" Tea gazed down sorrowfully with her hand pressed against her heart. "…if…you don't wanna cry…It hurts to cry…it hurts your heart…especially when you feel like each day you could be losing them…"

"Duhhh…Tea? Tea?" Yugi felt awkward yet worried. "You…okay?" He blinked twice.

Tea snapped back to reality and out of her self-pitying state. "I'm sorry!" she waved her hand about dismissively. "I'm always going off like that!"

"Oh no, that's alright. But, did that happened to you or something? You seemed…depressed all of the sudden."

"Well…I..." Her bangs hid her eyes away under a blanket of shadows. "…I don't want to talk about it…not right now."

"We don't have to talk about it...But I know what it's like when you're falling for someone who hasn't fallen as hard back."

Tea looked up with cheerless eyes. "…And that's why you shouldn't let them slip away…" The teenaged girl quickly recovered and went back to her happy mood. "Er, enough about all that. Let's finish talking about what we're gonna do with you!"

"Well, actually I have to make plans for me and Izzy's…" he turned red at the thought. "…o-our d-date…" Yugi began to walk off.

"Yeahwellokayseeya'!" he explained quickly to where she barely caught it, power-walking offwards.

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Tea dragged him back by the backpack. "You and her are going on another date? Since WHEN?"

"W-Well, she doesn't know about it yet b-but I was buying her this gift and I wanted to give it to her tonight when I say…y'know…"

"So then, you'll tell her how you feel?"

"Hopefully, yeah…"

"Then good luck!" Tea gave him cheering pat on the back, grinning.

Yugi smiled at her sheepishly and set his hand behind his head. "Thanks, Tea. I'm glad you're so supportive about all this…"

"And remember to tell me ALL about it when you get home!" her lips curved into a catlike smirk.

Yugi only flinched and sweat dropped in fear.

_**Game shop**_

"Yugi," Mr. Motou spoke as he slithered his arm into the sleeve of his jacket. "I'm going to head out for awhile, so watch the shop while I'm gone, and don't leave the cash register until I return!" he headed for the door, grumbling, "…Darn kids, eating me out of house and home after I just got groceries yesterday!"

Now the two, Yugi and Isolde, were left in the game shop alone.

Yugi traced circles in the dust implanted in the surface of the table. "This place is like a ghost town…" he sighed miserably.

Everything felt so awkward now…

Isolde had been doing a little cleaning on her own free time to occupy herself.

Yugi tried to make conversation, "You don't have to do that you know."

She shook her head sternly. "I want to be of some use."

Yugi cocked his head, finally noticing her accent had died away completely.

Isolde spun around and gave him a cute, childlike smile.

During the moment, he lingered on her lips…their shiny glow of smoothness astounded him, his eyes falling low as her observed the perfection of the gleam against their pout. _I wonder what it would feel like if…if I kissed them…_

Isolde giggled at his expression, causing Yugi's face to turn _**all**_ red as he flinched out of his daydreams. He quickly looked away and pretended to find the counter attractive.

Izzy's entranced eyes softened in delicateness. "Oh Yugi."

Those oceanic eyes dazzled with mixed emotion. She blushed and looked down with a small smile, heading for the closet. "I'll get the broom."

Yugi kept his eyes on her once he felt she had turned away, and slowly tendered his amethyst eyes. "…I wish I could tell you." He whispered as he leaned his cheek against the table in a depressed state. "…Tell you everything I think of you…"

The door's bell chimed as a young boy walked in, ruining Yugi's lovey-dovey moment. He carried an untamed mane of black hair that bounced on his shoulders and swished at his lower back. His hardened purpled gray eyes focused entirely on Yugi. This boy, only a pre-teen, then broke out into a grin.

"Hey, Yugi!" He greeted, hand lifted.

Yugi looked up, surprised to see this familiar stranger here. "Mokuba? What are you doing here? Does…Kaiba even know you're here?"

Mokuba hiked to the counter and scratched his cheek with a finger guiltily. "No, not…really. I didn't tell Seto."

"Well, it's good to see you." Yugi felt skeptical, nonetheless smiling. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but is there a certain reason you're here? I know it's not because of cards…"

"I heard about the rumors, Yugi." he automatically explained. "So I wanted to see if they were true!"

Yugi's face crunched up some. "What rumors?"

"The rumors about _**you**_ and your rich girlfriend! Almost everyone knows! You _**are**_ the champion duelist after all..."

"Wait, what? Rich girlfriend? What are you talking about? I don't have a girlfriend!" Yugi suddenly paused as he heard Izzy walk in.

"Yugi I"—she noticed Mokuba. "…Oh…hi there!" she coughed, waving to him.

Mokuba's eyes widened as he gazed at her, repeatedly rubbing his eyes. "Woah…nice DIAMONDS…" he then shook it off, and blushed faintly in her presence "Hi! My name's M-Mo-Mokuba!"

Isolde laughed gently. "You're Seto Kaiba's younger brother, isn't that right?"

"Y-yes m'am!"

"It's very nice to meet you, little Mokuba. I'm Yugi's friend, Isolde Isiserah. But you can call me Izzy." She leaned over, bowing respectfully.

Mokuba just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Isolde turned back to Yugi. "Anyway, I was going to ask where the broom was. I really need to sweep that back room. It's crying SOS."

"The broom's in the empty closet on the right…"

"I'm such a ditz…." she turned away, saying her farewells to Mokuba. "It was nice meeting you, Mokie! Can I…call you that?"

"…S-Sure!" Mokuba watched her leave, waving slowly in a cute smile. He then leaned over the counter at Yugi anxiously. "IS THAT HER?!"

"Um, I don't—"

"So the gossips were right for once! She even dresses like she has a ton of cash…she's pretty, too. And polite – something NEW for a change compared to all the rude girls here…"

"Well I'm not hanging out with her because of what she wears or her MONEY. I like Izzy for…IZZY—Anyway, Mokuba, she's not my girlfriend! We're only friends! That's all…okay?" he blushed with a slight disappointment in his face and voice. "…That's all we'll ever be from here on out…"

Mokuba narrowed his eyes slyly. "You like her don't you?"

Yugi quickly spun his head around to him. "…Wh-What? No!"

"Yeah right. It's not too hard to see…"

"Okay…maybe I like her a bit…" Yugi shook that off. "No, let me rephrase that. Maybe I like her _a lot_…"

"Does she know?"

Yugi shook his head.

Mokuba gave him a perplexed face as he leaned back. "Well why haven't you told her?"

"I choke when I try." Yugi shrugged, head bowed.

"That's pretty sad. Liking her and not telling her I mean." Mokuba gave him a pitiful look. "If you truly cared for someone, you'd let them know instead of running away."

"…You're only ten, what do you know about love…?" Yugi chuckled.

"…I'm twelve…"

Just then, the door's bell rang roughly against the wall, and this time it wasn't anywhere near a happy customer. "YUGI!!" the girl roared.

Mokuba and Yugi both turned around in surprise to see a little eight year old girl, long trimmed blonde hair, glasses and bluish green eyes staring angrily into Yugi's petrified soul.

"Rebecca…?" Yugi croaked out, feeling his air passages tighten.

Mokuba sweat dropped and mumbled under his breath, "Speak of the devil…"

Rebecca Hawkins stood with her hands on her hips, looking terrifically upset. "I heard the rumors! They say that Yugi Motou has a girlfriend and I'm pretty sure that they weren't talking about _me_!"

Yugi sweat dropped at this. "Rebecca the rumors aren't—"

"SAVE IT! You _lied _to me!"

"What?! Lied about _what_?!"

"You said _**I**_ was your girlfriend!"

"I-I never said that! YOU did!"

Rebecca came marching up to the counter, roughly pushing Mokuba out of her way—"Move it kid!"—as she slapped her hands on the table. "You're supposed to give your heart to me and only me! That's how a relationship works! But now I find you snooping around with some horse faced girl!"

"What?" Yugi panicked. "I'm not yours to begin with! And I wasn't snooping around! And she's not a horse face!"

"So you admit it! You _**do**_ have another girlfriend! You're supposed to be with me!" Rebecca was straining to hold back her fussy tears. "…Y-You don't care about me! How dare you cheat on me! How could you do this?"

Yugi gave her a hideous frown. "Rebecca, you have to understand that I only see you as my friend and that's it! You're not even close to my age! You're an eight year old girl and I'm a sixteen year old boy! See anything wrong with that picture?"

(A/N: SEVERELY!!)

"Why does age have to do with love?" Rebecca went back to rage. "Where is this girl of yours anyway?! Where is she?! I wanna meet this-this tramp the city is talking about!"

Isolde suddenly trotted out from behind Yugi, standing beside him. "I heard all the yelling. What's going on? Is everything alright?"

Rebecca looked her up and down and gasped mentally.A frown came upon her face. "Who's the BLONDE broad?"

Mokuba eyed all this with his sweat drop sliding lower. "That was just cold…"

"REBECCA!!" Yugi steamed.

The eight year old gasped out loud this time. "Are you her? Are you Yugi's girlfriend?!"

"…Girl…friend…?" Izzy blushed with a question mark above her head.

Rebecca pointed her finger at her face. "YOU ARE HER!"

"You know it's not nice to point." Mokuba pointed out.

Rebecca gave him a glare. "SHUT UP YOU!" she quickly turned back to Izzy. "You, girl, what's your name?"

"…Isolde Isiserah." She said slowly, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Isolde Isiserah?" Rebecca repeated scornfully. "Where are you from, the 'Tristan and Isolde' script? You know what, for all I care, you can just go find your own Romeo_, Juliet_, and stay away from mine, understand that?!"

"Rebecca!" Yugi yelled again, standing before her. "Calm DOWN."

"No!" she shook her head. "This girl stole your heart and now I'm gonna take it back!"

Izzy looked down in dwelling thought, suddenly looking back up to Yugi with a soft smile. "Yugi, I just remembered…I have something important that I left at the house, and I need to go get it…I'll, I'll be right back …" she began to trot off in a sudden need to get out of the game shop.

"Hey wait a sec'!" Yugi grabbed her arm to stop her.

"No, really i-it's not an excuse, I-I need to check if my father is still home…" Isolde faked her smile. "I promise I'll come back…"

Yugi's eyes dropped low in misery. "...Hurry then…" he hesitated to let go.

Isolde roughly brushed past Mr. Motou without an apology just as he had walked in. "…Did I miss something?" he asked.

"THAT'S RIGHT! YOU GO HOME YOU BOYFRIEND STEALER!" Rebecca piped after her as she went.

Mokuba, irritated, walked toward Rebecca with a pitiful yet disgruntled expression. "Hey kid, don't you know you can't do anything about Yugi liking someone else? What you're doing here is just wrong." He crossed his arms.

"But Yugi's suppose to be mine!" She eyed him up and down, snorting. "What do you know, anyway?! You've never been in love before!"

"And neither have you! You're just his fan, while Isolde's his girlfriend! All you have is a huge crush on him! Matter of fact, no matter what you feel for Yugi, he's feeling for someone ELSE. You can't make a person stop liking someone else! Not even CUPID can reverse his aims, so what makes you think you can?"

"Yeah but," Rebecca struggled to retort. "I love Yugi too! It's not just fandom!"

"Yeah and I repeat, Yugi likes _someone else_. If you truly 'LOOOVED' him, you'd think about him, and _let_ him be happy, riiiight?"

Rebecca gave Mokuba a look that this time wasn't so hateful. She lowered her head in reflection of what he said.

"Right now, you're being rather selfish for someone who loves Yugi so much…" Mokuba shook his head. "If you loved him, then you'd show it by doing him a favor…"

_**20 minutes later**_

Rebecca had stayed while Mokuba left to return to Kaiba Corp. She sat on a stool, forever pondering over Mokuba's harsh words. Her fingers tightened into a balled fist against her knees as she gritted her teeth. She wanted to cry, almost…

Yugi had been hers for awhile. Or so she thought.

Not Tea's, not Isolde's, just hers…

But now she was beginning to understand he sold his lullaby song to someone else? Who wasn't Tea, nor her?

As time passed on, Yugi resided next to her on another stool.

"Yugi?" she quietly called for him as her head remained lowered. "Do you really like her?"

He stared at her for a minute and then gazed up at the ceiling timorously. He had trouble admitting those words to or around anyone. "Well, uhhh…" He scratched his reddened cheek by the finger. "Y-Yeah…you can say it like th-that."

"…Does she…does she really make you happy? Like, what do you feel? Just curious…" She twiddled her thumbs, hoping her voice didn't show her pain.

"Well…" Yugi gazed at his swishing feet, smiling as the red appeared to be neon on his cheeks. "…E-Each and…every time I see that smile on her face, I feel the happiness boil within me sometimes in nervousness if she's standing right beside me. I've never felt this way in my life, like I'm actually floating on air, even when—"

"Besides all that," Rebecca suddenly interrupted, not wanting to hear him preach his love about someone who wasn't her. "Did she ever make you cry at all?"

His eyes flattened in emotion. "Only when she's put herself in danger…"

"…She…she doesn't know how you feel about her, does she?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

"No…"

"Well why not?!" Rebecca's voice came crackled and watery.

Yugi stared wide-eyed into her moisturized eyes, the lights wavering in trembling emotion. He soon smiled.

"I never told her yet. I'm afraid she won't feel the same way…if her answer is rejection, it'll hurt me. Above all else I'm not in the mood to be let down. I've gotten so excited about the thought of her and me holding hands, that it would take me a year to get out of my depressed state if she rejects me."

Rebecca stared into the depths of his sorrow filled purple eyes. She softened her own.

The phone chimed.

Yugi motioned a finger to Rebecca for her to stay put as he got up to retrieve it. "Hello, Mr. Motou's Game shop." He chirped.

His friendly smile drooped as he heard sobbing on the other line. "Uh, hello?"

"…Y-Yugi," it was Isolde.

Yugi blinked. "Izzy? Izzy, what's wrong?"

Finally she broke down into stifling sobs. "…Yugi…" she moaned under throttled whimpers. "…M-My father…is…m-making me move again…!" she sobbed harder, muffled under tears she swallowed. "…I-I'll be leaving the city…tomorrow morning. He doesn't want me here in this town with y-you, especially. H-He says…it's my punishment for overstaying here without him kn-knowing."

Yugi choked upon a rasp. His pupils quaked tremendously as the color from his face drained off his cheeks.

He dropped the phone…

_**Domino Streets**_

Isolde stood on the bridge that hovered over the sewer water that traveled downstream. The hissing splinters of rain tackled her wet back. The darkness was quiet, all but the bustling of cars on the lightless road. Her pale arms wrapped over the banister while she tucked her chin into them.

_**("I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne) **_

_**(I'm standing on the bridge…**_

_**I'm waiting in the dark…**_

_**There's nothin' but the rain…**_

_**No footsteps on the ground…**_

_**I'm listening, but there's**_

_**No sound…)**_

She hiccupped and sniffled, wiping mucus off her upper lip. Izzy raised her head to gaze out into the afar distance clouded by the film of rain. Her eyebrows knitted back. Where was she…?

_**(Isn't anyone tryna**_

_**Find me?**_

_**Won't somebody come take me home?)**_

Isolde hiked the streets with her fingers clinging to her dress. She was constantly bumped and shoved by the citizens walking into the opposite direction of her. She gasped as a tidal wave of mud splashed over her once a bike messenger wheeled by.

_**(I'm looking for a place**_

_**I'm searching for a face**_

_**Is anybody here**_

_**I know?**_

_**Cuz nothin's goin' right**_

_**And everything's a mess**_

_**And no one likes to be**_

_**Alone…)**_

Isolde finally found herself crawling through the alleys, away from civilization. She wiped rain and mud from her eyes and cheeks, trying to to escape her father's house yet hunting for a refuge. There was no way in hell she'd leave with that psychotic bastard. She needed Lithium…

Lithium was used to treat episodes of depression, and it was something she had been secretly popping into her mouth when Yugi wasn't near. But it's probably the main reason her depression built up into its own empire in the back of her head.

_**(Why is everything so**_

_**Confusing?**_

_**Maybe I'm just outta my mind)**_

However, in the distance of the narrow passageway, she could just vaguely make out the splinter of gold light shining ahead of her. It looked to be in the shape of an eye…

She squinted against the heavy rainfalls and wiped her eyes…

Was it an Angel?

_**(It's a damn cold night**_

_**Tryna figure out this life)**_

As she kept her sights in front of her, the light was moving forward. The outlined silhouette of spiked hair and broad shoulders walked leisurely toward her.

Isolde stood on her quavering legs. "…Y…Yugi?" she outstretched her wanting fingers.

_**(Won't you**_

_**Take me by the hand**_

_**Take me somewhere new**_

_**I don't know who you are, but I…)**_

_At last, narrowed amethyst eyes came into recognition. The matured face and broad torso of Yugi's Yami stood before her. _

_**(I'm with you…**_

_**I'm with you…)**_

"Izzy?" The childlike voice of Yugi echoed in her eardrums instead of the profoundly deep tone of Yami.

Isolde smiled to herself as Yugi came running for her. She nearly collapsed at the thankful sight of him, but Yugi caught her just in time. He stared worriedly into her weary face as she smiled into his breast.

_**(It's a damn…**_

_**Cold…**_

_**Night…**_

_**Tryna figure out…**_

_**This…**_

_**Life…)**_

Yugi wrapped his arm under her waist, pulling him to her, and finally into his arms for an embrace. "Where were you? Everyone was worried sick about you. Your father's been running all over town for you."

Isolde turned somewhat red in the face as her hands were against his chest, and her face was against his shoulder. "…Yugi…" her eyes softened gently, her breathing a little easier in his arms now. "Forget him…"

_**(Won't you…**_

_**Take me by the hand**_

_**Take me somewhere new…)**_

Yugi smiled warmly again when he heard her whisper his name lightly. "I know you're upset about leaving, but I am too. But we've at least gotta try and have a positive attitude towards it.

_**(I'm with you**_

_**I'm with you)**_

"Yugi…" she whispered hoarsely to him, lips brushing his ear's skin. "…we'll be so far apart." She wrapped her arms around his neck as if he were going to slip out of her embrace anytime soon. "…We'll never see each other again…L-Let's just run away together."

He smiled. "Izzy, it doesn't mean we're out of each other's lives forever. It doesn't mean we are completely apart. Because I know…you'll always be here, with me…where my soul is if you can do the same for me..."

_**(Take me by the hand**_

_**Take me somewhere new)**_

Isolde raised her head and looked into his loving eyes, stroking the back of his neck, eyes looking up and down his face. "Really…?"

"Really." He leaned in closer to her; wanting to say those words now and then feel her lips against his.


End file.
